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THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

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AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


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ENDOWED  BY  THE 

DIALECTIC  AND  PHILANTHROPIC 

SOCIETIES 

.M56 


OCT  1*9  1975 


UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


10002054777 


This  book  is  due  at  the  WALTER  R.  DAVIS  LIBRARY  on 
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lOB)i2  2im 


Form  No  513, 
Rev.  1/84 


C^U~  cf 


OLD  TIMES  IN 
DIXIE  LAND 

A  Southern   Matron's   Memories 


BY 


CAROLINE    E.    MERRICK 


NEW   YORK 
THE    GRAFTON   PRESS 

1901 


9/n 


Copyright,  1901, 
By  CAROLINE  ELIZABETH  MERRICK 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  Cottage  Hall 5 

II.  Old  Times 11 

III.  Home  Life 17 

IV.  Rumors  op  Our  Civil  War 24 

V.  My  Daughter  Laura's  Diary 37 

VI.  War  Memories  :  How  Becky  Coleman  Washed 

Hester  Whitefield's  Face 48 

VII.  War  Memories  :  The  Story  of  Patsy's  Garden.    59 

VIII.  How  Woman  Came  to  the  Rescue 69 

IX.  Miss  Vine's  Dinner  Party  and  its  Abrupt  Con- 
clusion     83 

X.  Our  Federal  Friends  and  the  Colored  Brother  104 

XI.  Laura's  Death  in  the  Epidemic  of  '78 116 

XII.  A  First  Speech  and  Some  Noted  Women 124 

XIII.  Frances  Willard  , 141 

XIV.  Sorrow  and  Sympathy. 153 

XV.  Becky  Speaks  Up  in  Meeting  in  the  Interests 

of  Morality 164 

XVI.  Mrs.    Julia   Ward   Howe    and   the    Blessed 

Colored  People 171 

XVII.  Nervous  Prostration  and  a  Veneraele  Cousin.  186 
XVIII.  Enter— as  an  Episode— Mrs.  Columbiana  Por- 

TERFIELD 197 

XIX.  The  Southern  Woman  Becomes  a  "Clubable" 

Being , , 212 

XX.  "The  Best  is  Yet  To  Be" 229 

£ 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


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OLD  TIMES  IN  DIXIE  LAND 


CHAPTEE  I. 

COTTAGE    HALL. 

I  have  not  written  these  memoirs  entirely  for  the 
amusement  or  instruction  of  my  contemporaries;  but  I 
shall  feel  rewarded  if  I  elicit  thereby  the  interest  and 
sympathy  which  follows  an  honest  effort  to  tell  the 
truth  in  the  recollections  of  one's  life — for„  after  all, 
truth  is  the  chief  virtue  of  history.  My  ancestry  may 
be  of  as  little  importance  in  itself  as  this  book  is  likely 
to  be  after  the  lapse  of  a  few  years ;  yet  it  is  satisfactory 
to  know  that  your  family  is  respectable, — even  if  you 
cannot  prove  it  to  be  so  ancient  that  it  has  no  beginning, 
and  so  worthy  that  it  ought  to  have  no  end.  I  am  will- 
ing, however,  that  my  genealogy  should  be  investigated ; 
there  are  books  giving  the  whole  history ;  and  it  is  surely 
an  innocent  and  praiseworthy  pride — that  of  good  ped- 
igree. 

I  was  born  November  24th,  1825,  at  our  plantation 
home,  called  Cottage  Hall,  in  the  xjarish  of  East  Feli- 
ciana, in  the  State  of  Louisiana.!  My  father  was  a  man 

\  s 


6  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

of  firmness  and  of  courage  amounting  to  stoicism.  He 
appeared  calm  and  self-possessed  under  all  circum- 
stances. He  ruled  his  own  house,  but  so  judicious  was 
his  management  that  even  his  slaves  loved  him. 

Though  I  was  very  young  when  my  mother  died,  T 
can  remember  her  and  the  great  affection  manifested 
for  her  by  the  entire  family.  While  not  realizing  the 
importance  of  my  loss,  I  knew  enough  to  resent  the 
coming  of  another  to  fill  her  place.  My  father  said  he 
wanted  a  good  woman  who  could  see  that  his  family  of 
six  children  were  properly  brought  up  and  educated. 
His  nephew,  Dr.  James  Thomas,  introduced  him  to 
Miss  Susan  Brewer,  who  he  thought  would  fill  all  these 
requirements.  The  marriage  was  soon  arranged,  and 
I  was  brought  home,  to  Cottage  Hall,  by  my  eldest  sister, 
with  whom  I  had  been  living.  The  other  children  had 
laid  aside  their  mourning  and  I  was  informed  that  I 
also  had  new  dresses;  but  I  declined  to  wear  them  or 
to  call  the  new  mistress  of  the  household  by  the  name  of 
"  Mother,"  which  had  been  freely  given  her  by  the  rest  of 
the  family.  When  my  father  lifted  me  from  the  car- 
riage he  said :  "  My  child,  I  will  now  take  you  to  your 
new  mother."  As  he  kissed  me  affectionately  I  turned 
away  and  said :  "  I  am  not  your  child,  and  I  have  no 
mother  now."  I  have  never  forgotten  the  sad  look  he 
gave  me  nor  the  tenderness  he  manifested  toward  my 
waywardness  as  he  took  me  in  his  arms  and  carried  me 
into  the  house.  I  was  a  troublesome  little  girl  with  an 
impetuous  temper ;  perhaps  it  was  on  this  account  that  he 
often  said :  "  This  golden-haired  darling  is  the  dearest 
little  one  in  the  house — and  the  most  exacting."     My 


Cottage  Hall.  7 

father  had  a  vein  of  quaint  humor  and  abounded  in  pro- 
verbial wisdom.  I  have  heard  him  say,  "  Yes,  I  have  a 
very  bad  memory — I  remember  what  should  be  forgot- 
ten." 

We  often  had  friends  and  schoolmates  to  spend 
the  day  or  night  at  Cottage  Hall ;  but  when  these  visits 
were  returned  we  were  always  accompanied  by  our  mar- 
ried sister  or  some  equally  responsible  chaperone.  We 
complained  much  of  this  rigid  rule,  yet  I  now  think  it 
was  a  wise  exaction  that  every  night  should  find  us 
sheltered  under  the  home  roof.  My  father  had  no  pa- 
tience with  the  innocent  flirtations  of  young  people; 
he  thought  such  conduct  implied  a  lack  of  straight- 
forward honesty  which  was  inexcusable.  Few  men  can 
understand  the  temptations  of  a  young  girl's  environ- 
ment, which  sometimes  cause  her  to  make  promises  in 
good  faith  that  cannot  be  carried  out,  and  my  father 
had  no  pity  on  one  who  so  doted  on  general  admiration 
that  she  was  unwilling  to  contract  her  life  into  a  simple 
home  with  one  true,  brave  heart.  Such  an  one,  he 
thought,  deserved  to  become  a  lonely  old  maid  and  hold 
a  pet  dog  in  her  arms,  with  never  a  child  of  her  own, 
because  she  had  turned  away  from  her  highest  vocation 
— and  all  for  pure  vanity  and  folly. 

My  stepmother  was  a  gifted  woman.  She  was  born  in 
Wilbraham,  Massachusetts,  in  1790,  and  died  July  25th, 
1876.  She  had  come  South  by  the  advice  of  Dr.  Wilbur 
Fisk,  and  was  instrumental  in  bringing  into  Alabama, 
Mississippi  and  Louisiana  over  sixty  accomplished 
teachers,  she  herself  having  been  <at  the  head  of  success- 
ful schools  in  New  York,  Baltimore,  Tuscaloosa  and 


8  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

Washington.  The  calling  of  teaching  she  gave  up 
when  she  married  my  father,  but  the  cause  of  education 
in  the  South  was  greatly  promoted  by  her  influence,  for 
which  reason  she  has  been  compared  to  Mary  Lyon  of 
New  England. 

On  one  occasion,  when  my  stepmother  had  a  large 
party  of  Northern  people  at  tea,  they  began  praising 
the  products  of  their  own  State  and  depreciating  those  of 
Louisiana.  My  childish  anger  was  stirred,  and  I 
asked  our  guests  why  they  had  come  down  here  if  they 
had  everything  so  much  nicer  and  better  in  Massachu- 
setts? I  said  no  more,  for  a  maid  was  called  and  I  was 
sent  to  bed,  retiring  with  indignation  while  the  company 
laughed  spiritedly  at  my  impertinence.  One  of  my 
sisters  wrote  me  later,  "  Ma  has  no  occasion  to  teach 
you  how  to  manage,  for  you  were  born  with  a  talent 
for  ruling — whether  wisely  or  not  time  will  show." 

Cottage  Hall  was  five  miles  from  Jackson,  Louisiana. 
My  father  was  for  many  years  trustee  of  the  college  there 
which  afterward  became  Centenary  College  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South.  His  death  oc- 
curred in  1849>  and  I  have  preserved  a  eulogy  delivered 
by  President  Augustus  Baldwin  Longstreet  during  the 
Commencement  exercises  of  the  year.  From  this  I 
transcribe  a  few  sentences: 

"A  sad  announcement  will  be  anticipated  by  those 
who  have  been  long  in  the  habit  of  attending  these  ocea- 
eions  when  they  cast  their  eyes  over  the  Board  of  Trus- 
tees and  see  that  the  seat  of  Captain  David  Thomas  is 
)  vacant.     Never  since  the  foundation  of  the  College  was 


Cottage  Hall.  9 

it  so  before.  He  was  present  at  the  birth  of  this  in- 
stitution; he  saw  it  in  all  its  promising  and  dispiriting 
visitations;  and  while  it  had  no  peculiar  claims  upon 
him,  he  watched  over  it  with  parental  solicitude.  At 
length  he  rejoiced  in  its  commitment  to  the  care  of 
his  own  church;  and  under  the  management  of  my  pre- 
decessor, he  saw  it  assume  an  honorable  rank  among 
the  kindred  institutions  of  our  Southern  clime.  His 
head,  his  heart  and  purse  were  all  at  its  service.  He 
was  anticipating  the  events  of  this  week  with  hopeful 
gratification  when,  within  forty-eight  hours  of  the  time 
he  expected  to  mingle  his  counsels  with  his  colleagues, 
it  pleased  God  to  cut  him  down.  Were  our  griefs  always 
proportioned  to  our  losses,  his  wife,  his  children,  the  or- 
phan, the  poor,  the  church,  the  trustees,  the  faculty, 
and  the  students  would  all  have  raised  one  wild  shriek 
at  the  twang  of  the  archer's  bow  which  laid  him  low. 
Were  the  joys  of  friendship  proportioned  to  the  good 
fortune  of  a  friend,  we  should  all  rejoice  and  mingle 
our  voices  in  loud  hallelujahs  that  death  had  snatched 
him  away;  for  that  he  has  gone  direct  from  earth  to 
heaven  none  can  doubt  who  knew  him.  I  find  it  hard 
to  restrain  the  starting  tears;  but  this  is  my  weakness. 
We  all  should  rejoice,  but  this  our  nature  will  not  per- 
mit; yet  we  must  testify  our  respect  for  his  memory." 

Then  Judge  Longstreet  read  the  resolutions  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees  of  Centenary  College,  which  had  been 
placed  in  his  hands.  This  extraordinary  man  was  a 
dear  friend  of  our  family,  and  every  child  in  the 
house  enjoyed  his  visits.     He  played  on  a  glass  flute 


io  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

for  us,  and  it  was  a  choice  privilege  when  we  were 
allowed  to  hear  him  read  from  his  "  Georgia  Scenes  " 
about  the  comical  doings  of  Ned  Brace  and  Cousin 
Patsy.  His  peculiarities  bordered  on  eccentricity  and 
his  wit  was  inimitable  and  irresistible. 

Mrs.  Longstreet  was  a  lovely  woman  of  whose  pres- 
ence one  never  wearied.  She  wore  the  daintiest  of  white 
caps,  and  seemed  in  the  eyes  of  all  like  the  angel  she 
was.  Of  Byron,  Walter  Scott,  and  historical  literature 
she  could  give  pages  from  memory  with  great  expression 
and  in  the  sweetest  voice  imaginable.  She  was  ideally 
sweet  even  in  her  most  advanced  years — a  vision  which 
once  seen  can  never  be  forgotten. 


CHAPTEE  II. 

OLD     TIMES. 

On  a  clear  spring  morning  more  than  fifty  years  ago, 
Cousin  Antoinette  and  I  sat  on  the  front  porch  of  Cot- 
tage Hall  ready  for  a  ride  and  waiting  for  the  stable  boy 
to  bring  up  our  ponies.  We  were  in  the  act  of  mount- 
ing when  my  father  appeared  and  inquired  where  we 
were  going. 

"  We  shall  not  take  a  long  ride,  papa.  We  are  not 
going  anywhere,  and  shall  return  in  good  time  for  break- 
fast." 

"  You  will  do  nothing  of  the  kind.  You  have  no 
brother  here  to  ride  with  you,  and  it  is  improper  for  two 
young  ladies  to  be  seen  on  the  public  road  alone  so 
early  in  the  morning."  He  then  ordered  the  horses 
back  to  the  lot.  We  were  obliged  to  submit  to  his  au- 
thority without  protest,  though  I  was  ready  to  say, 
"  There  is  a  word  sweeter  than  '  mother,  home,  or 
heaven,'  and  that  word  is  '  liberty.' "  Contrast  this 
with  the  freedom  of  the  modern  girl  on  her  bicycle ! 

Once  when  I  left  the  schoolroom  on  account  of  a  dis- 
agreement with  the  governess,,  my  stepmother  thought 
my  father  should  require  me  to  return  and  apologize. 
"  No,"  he  replied,  "    she  elects  her  own  life  and  must 

abide  by  her  choice ;  she  shall  not  be  coerced."      I  was 
ii 


12  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

never  afterward  a  student  in  any  schoolroom,  though  at 
this  time  only  in  my  thirteenth  year.  I  had  been  in  class 
with  girls  three  or  four  years  older  than  myself,  and 
was  considered  quite  mature  in  person  and  mental  de- 
velopment. I  early  ascertained  that  girls  had  a  sphere 
wherein  they  were  expected  to  remain  and  that  the  des- 
potic hand  of  some  man  was  continually  lifted  to  keep 
them  revolving  in  a  certain  prescribed  and  very  restrict- 
ed orbit.  When  mild  reproofs  failed  there  were  always 
other  curbs  for  the  idiot  with  eccentric  inclinations. 

Yet  it  was  with  my  father's  full  consent,  even  by  his 
advice,  that  at  fifteen  years  of  age  I  married  Edwin 
Thomas  Merrick,  for  he  thought  I  could  not  enter  too 
soon  upon  woman's  exclusive  path,  and  be  marching 
along  towards  woman's  kingdom  with  a  companion  in 
the  prime  of  a  noble  manhood.  I  was  indebted  for  my 
"  bringing  up  "  to  the  young  man  I  married.  He  was 
more  than  twice  my  age,  and  possessed  many  times  over 
my  amount  of  wisdom.  In  one  of  Mr.  Merrick's  love- 
letters,  written  in  1839,  alluding  to  a  remark  of  mine 
on  the  absurdity  of  a  "  young  thing  like  me "  being 
companionable  for  a  man  of  thirty  years,  he  says: 
"  Is  it  not  '  ridiculously  absurd '  for  a  young  lady  who 
talks  seriously  of  moving  an  island  in  the  lake  of 
Windermere  to  suppose  she  is  not  old  enough  to  marry 
anybody?  I  have  been  reared  in  the  cold  North  where 
mind  and  person  come  to  maturity  slowly;  you  in  the 
sunny  South  where  the  flower  bursts  at  once  into  full 
luxuriance  and  beauty."  Lover-like,  he  compliments 
me  by  continuing :  "  I  have  never  discovered  in  you 
anything  to  remind  me  of  the  disparity  of  our  ages; 


Old  Times.  13 

but,  on  the  contrary,  I  have  found  a  maturity  of  judg- 
ment, correctness  of  taste  and  extent  of  accomplish- 
ments which  cause  me  to  feel  that  you  have  every  ac- 
quisition of  a  lady  of  twenty;  and  I  have  been  happier 
in  your  society  than  in  that  of  any  other  human  being." 

My  husband,  the  nephew  of  my  stepmother,  was  born 
July  9th,  1809,  in  Wilbraham,  Massachusetts.  He 
was  >an  advocate  and  jurist,  served  as  district  judge  of 
the  Florida  parishes,  and  was  twice  elected  chief  justice 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Louisiana. 

The  entire  household  at  Cottage  Hall  was  devoted  to 
"  Cousin  Edwin,"  as  he  was  called  after  our  Southern 
fashion  of  claiming  kinship  with  those  we  like.  I  re- 
member that  when  Mrs.  Lafa}^ette  Saunders  heard  that 
Mrs.  Thomas  had  made  this  match,  she  replied: 
"  It  is  a  pity  she  did  not  do  the  same  for  all  the  family, 
for  she  surely  has  made  a  good  one  for  Caroline ! " 
For  a  year  and  a  half  Mr.  Merrick  and  I  had  seen  much 
of  each  other  and  had  exchanged  frequent  letters,  many 
of  which  have  been  sacredly  preserved  to  the  pres- 
ent time.  Bishop  John  C.  Keener,  who  was  his  life- 
long friend,  said  of  him  at  the  time  of  his  death: 
"  Judge  Merrick  was  always  a  bright,  delightful  person 
in  his  family  and  with  his  acquaintances  and  friends. 
He  was  a  scholar,  and  was  familiar  with  several  modern 
languages,  especially  French  and  German.  He  had  an 
investigating  mind,  loved  to  explore  the  recent  wonders 
of  science,  and  the  doctrine  of  evolution  he  accepted. 
Few  men  had  rounded  their  career  into  a  grander  ex- 
pression of  all  the  high  qualities  which  concur  in  the 
useful  citizen  and  the  influential  public  magistrate. 


14  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

He  was  an  incorruptible  and  capable  judge,  which  is 
the  most  important  and  admirable  character  in  the  of- 
ficial constituency  of  government." 

The  Law  Association  of  New  Orleans,  in  their  trib- 
ute to  his  memory,  said  to  him — using  his  own  words 
at  a  like  meeting  in  honor  of  Chief  Justice  Eustis: 
"  His  judicial  opinions  show  a  comprehensive  intellect, 
cultivated  by  long  study,  and  familiarized  with  the  sen- 
timents of  the  great  writers  and  expounders  of  the 
law.  They  were,  as  became  them,  more  solid  than  bril- 
liant, more  massive  than  showy.  They  are  like  granite 
masonry,  and  will  serve  as  guides  and  landmarks  in 
years  to  come.  He  was  domestic,  temperate  and  simple 
in  his  habits;  modest,  patient,  punctual,  and  exceed- 
ingly studious.  In  his  family  relations  he  was  a  good 
husband,  a  wise  and  loving  father.  He  loved  his  fellow- 
men  and  enjoyed  the  success  of  others.  He  encouraged 
young  men,  and  with  his  brethren  of  the  bar  he  was 
always  considerate,  courteous  and  generous.'"' 

Thus  he  received  a  beautiful  and  eloquent  tribute 
which  dealt  with  both  his  public  and  private  life. 

In  his  home  Mr.  Merrick  was  always  gentle  and 
lovable  without  the  least  apparent  pride.  He  would  en- 
tertain with  the  greatest  simplicity  the  youngest  child 
in  the  house;  and  this  fact  reminds  me  of  a  little  boy 
who  deposited  with  tears  a  bouquet  at  his  lifeless  feet. 
To  the  inquiry  "  Who  sent  them  ?  "  he  replied :  "  I 
brought  them.  For  three  years  he  has  given  me  money 
to  buy  all  my  school  book^,  and  I  am  so  sorry  he  is 
dead  !  "  In  a  letter  my  daughter-in-law  had  written  me 
while  we  were  in  Virginia  during  one  of  his  last  summers 


Old  Times.  15 

on  earth,  she  asked :  "  Does  father  still  roam  over  the 
hills  gathering  flowers  for  you  to  wear  as  he  used  to 
do  ?  "  Even  in  his  old  age  his  cheerfulness,  his  equi- 
poise and  sweetness  never  deserted  him. 

In  regard  to  early  marriages,  I  cannot,  in  view  of  my 
own  experience  and  long  life  of  contentment  and  domes- 
tic happiness,  say  aught  unfavorable,  though  there  is 
another  side  to  the  question  and  modern  custom  tends 
increasingly  towards  marriage  at  a  later  period.  As 
it  is  true  that  the  progeny  of  immature  plants  and 
animals  do  not  equal  in  vigor  and  capacity  for  en- 
durance the  offspring  of  fully  developed  specimens,  so 
human  beings  who  desire  to  establish  a  home  and  intend 
to  bring  up  a  family,  should  not  be  children,  but  full- 
grown,  matured  men  and  women;  yet,  all  things  else 
being  equal,  it  is  surely  better  they  should  unite  to  make 
up  a  perfect  life  before  the  season  of  youth  has  passed 
away,  and  the  man  became  blase,  the  woman  warped. 
Men  are  much  concerned  about  our  sex  and  the  duties 
and  peculiar  functions  belonging  thereto.  It  is  my 
opinion  that  they  too  need  some  instruction  in  regard  to 
the  exercise  and  regulation  of  their  own  relations  and 
responsibilities  toward  the  future  welfare  of  the  race. 
They  have  decided  that  brain  work  is  detrimental  to 
the  full  development  of  the  organization  of  the  female; 
but  they  do  not  worry  over  the  effects  of  tobacco,  whisky 
and  certain  vile  habits  upon  the  congenital  vigor  of 
both  boys  and  girls.  Fathers  and  medical  men  ought  to 
look  well  to  the  hygienic  duties  of  their  own  sex;  then 
both  sexes  would  be  born  with  better  capacity  for  life 
and  growth,  and  the  poor  mother  would  not  be  obliged 


16  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

to  spend  so  much  care  and  trouble  in  rearing  the  off- 
spring of  debilitated  manhood.  Nature  does  not  work 
in  a  hurry.  She  is  patient,  persistent  and  deliberate, 
never  losing  sight  of  her  own  great  ends,  and  inexorable 
as  to  her  rights. 

If  study  could  check  and  thwart  a  child's  growth 
Margaret  D'Ossoli  would  have  been  a  case  of  arrested  de- 
velopment instead  of  a  large-souled  woman.  It  was  her 
father  who  kept  her  little  head  all  day  over  Greek  and 
Latin  exercises  at  the  age  of  seven  years,  when  she  should 
have  been  playing  with  her  dolls  and  romping  in  the 
fresh  outdoor  air.  It  was  her  father,  M.  Necker,  who 
trained  Madame  de  Stael  into  a  woman  whom  the  great 
Napoleon  hated  and  even  feared  so  much  that  he  in- 
sulted her  childless  wifehood  by  telling  her  that  what 
France  needed  was  mothers,  and  sent  her  into  banish- 
ment. 

It  is  useless  to  get  up  a  lamentation  that  the  race  will 
die  out  and  children  be  neglected  because  woman  is  go- 
ing to  college  and  becoming  informed  and  intellectual. 
Nature  will  take  care  that  she  keeps  to  her  principal 
business,  which  is  to  become  a  willing  (or  unwilling) 
medium  to  continue  the  species. 


CHAPTER  III. 

HOME  LIFE. 

My  home  during  my  early  married  life  was  in  the 
town  of  Clinton,  La.  While  I  never  coveted  the  owner- 
ship of  many  slaves,  my  comfort  was  greatly  promoted 
by  the  possession  of  some  who  had  been  carefully  trained 
to  be  good  domestics,  and  who  were  given  to  me  by  my 
father  on  my  marriage.  I  always  liked  to  go  into  the 
kitchen,  but  sometimes  my  cook,  who  had  been  for 
twelve  years  in  training,  scorned  my  inexperienced 
youth,  would  say  emphatically,  "  Go  inter  de  house, 
Miss  Carrie!  Yer  ain't  no  manner  er  use  heah  only 
ter  git  yer  face  red  wid  de  heat.  I'll  have  dinner  like 
yer  wants  it.  Jes'  read  yer  book  an'  res'  easy  till  I  sen's 
it  ter  de  dining-room."  I  like  just  as  much  to  go  into 
the  kitchen  to-day,  and  am  accounted  a  "born  cook," 
by  my  family,  being  accredited  with  a  genius  for  giving 
those  delicious  and  elusive  flavors  that  are  inspirations 
and  cannot  be  taught.  The  artist  cook  burns  neither 
food  nor  fingers,  is  never  hurried  or  flurried,  and  does 
not  reveal  in  appearance  or  manner  that  the  table  is 
indebted  to  her  handicraft. 

The  common  idea  of  tyranny  and  ill-usage  of  slaves 
was  often  reversed  in  my  case,  and  I  was  subject  at 
times  to  exactions  and  dictations  of  the  black  people 

2  17 


18  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

"who  belonged  to  mei,  which  now  seem  almost  too  extraor- 
dinary and  incredible  to  relate.  I  made  periodical  visits 
to  our  plantation  in  Point  Coupe  parish,  over  fifty  miles 
distant  from  Clinton.  En  route  I  would  often  desire 
my  coachman  to  drive  faster,  and  he  would  do  so  for  the 
moment,  then  would  fall  back  into  the  old  pace.  If 
I  remonstrated  he  would  say :  "  I's  'sponsible  f er  dese 
yeah  horses,  an'  dey  got  ter  fotch  us  back  home,  an'  I 
ain't  er  gwine  ter  kill  'em  gettin'  ter  whar  we  gwine  ter ; 
an'  I'd  tell  Marse  Edwin  de  same  thing  if  he  was 
heah." 

Gardening  has  always  greatly  claimed  my  heart  and 
time.  I  have  taken  prizes  at  horticultural  exhibits,  and 
have  been  no  little  vainglorious  in  this  last  year  of  the 
century  to  be  able  to  show  the  public  the  only  blooming 
-century-plant  in  New  Orleans,  or  indeed  in  the  State, 
so  far  as  I  know,  and  for  whose  blossoming  I  have  been 
waiting  thirty  years.  There  is  a  "  mild  and  gentle  " 
but  indissoluble  sympathy  between  the  human  soul  and 
the  brown  earth  from  which  we  have  sprung,  and  to 
which  we  shall  return.  There  is  no  outward  influence 
that  can  be  compared  to  that  of  living,  growing,  bloom- 
ing things.  The  resurrections  of  the  springtime  cause 
an  epidemic  of  gardening  fever  that  prevails  until  in- 
tenser  sunshine  discourages  exertions.  When  buds 
are  bursting  and  color  begins  to  glow  on  every  bush  and 
trellis  I  do  not  see  how  any  one  can  be  wholly  miserable. 
The  great  season  of  hope  and  promise  stirs  into  fruit- 
fulness  of  some  sort  the  blood  that  has  been  marking 
time  for  many  years.  This  ever  renewed,  undiscouraged 
passion  of  making  the  earth  produce  seems  a  proof  that 


Home  Life.  19 

man's  natural  occupation  is  husbandry.  He  keeps  at 
it  through  love  as  well  as  necessity,  and  every  spring- 
time he,  as  little  subdued  as  nature,  renews  the  con- 
test.    It  is  his  destiny. 

Therefore  it  is  hardly  a  matter  for  surprise  that  my 
first-born  child  appealed  so  strongly  to  my  love  of  grow- 
ing things  that  the  office  of  my  nurse  was  a  mere  sine- 
cure, for  my  boy  was  always  in  my  arms — perhaps  the 
more  that  I  had  been  cut  off  prematurely  from  my  dolls. 
With  every  moment  devoted  to  his  interests  he  became 
such  a  precocious  wonder  that  all  the  servants  proph- 
esied: "Dat  chile's  not  long  for  dis  worF,  Miss 
QaXline!"  I  was  not  disturbed,  however,  by  these 
mournful  predictions,  knowing  how  much  time  and 
patience  had  been  invested  in  his  baby  education.  When 
I  look  back  on  this  period  I  excuse  myself  on  account  of 
my  youth,  yet  at  the  same  time  I  pity  myself  for  my 
ignorance.    The  experience  I  bought  was  high-priced. 

The  heavy  and  exacting  responsibilities  of  a  slave- 
holder did  not  rest  upon  me  with  a  lightness  commen- 
surate with  my  years.  During  my  annual  visits  to  the 
plantation  I  was  not  sure  of  uninterrupted  rest  even  at 
night,  for  I  never  could  refuse  an  interview  to  any  of  the 
negroes  who  called  upon  me.  I  observe  that  my  diaries 
of  those  days  are  full  of  notes  of  my  attendance  upon! 
sick  servants.  When  President  Lincoln  issued  his  proc- 
lamation of  freedom  to  our  slaves  I  exclaimed :  "  Thank 
heaven !  I  too  shall  be  free  at  last !  " — forgetful  of  the 
legal  disabilities  to  which  white  women  of  these  United 
States  are  yet  in  bondage. 

In  the  year  1851  I  made  my  first  trip  to  the  North. 


20  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

While  visiting  in  Ohio,  my  husband  said :  "  I  think 
a  little  longer  stay  here  will  cure  you  of  your  anti- 
slavery  principles;"  but  I  rejected  with  scorn  the  idea 
that  I  would  allow  my  personal  comfort  to  bias  my  judg- 
ment ;  though  I  had  to  admit  that  one  of  my  own  trained 
"  darkies  "  was  superior  "  help  "  to  any  that  I  had,  so 
far,  encountered.  My  diary  of  the  day  records :  "  I 
find  the  children  here  are  set  to  work  as  soon  as  they  are 
able  *  to  do  a  turn'  or  go  on  an  errand,  and  are  kept 
steadily  at  it  until  they  grow  up,  run  away,  or  die. 
Dear  little  '  Sis  Daisy '  in  this  house  is  running  con- 
stantly all  day  long  and  her  little  fat  hands  are  broader 
than  mine,  from  grasping  things  too  large  and  heavy 
for  so  small  a  child  to  handle.  She  drops  to  sleep  some- 
times in  the  big  chair  or  on  the  lounge  in  my  room.  I 
cover  her  with  my  dress  and  don't  know  anything  about 
her  when  she  is  called — happy  to  be  sure  she  is  getting 
some  rest.  Night  must  be  a  blissful  time  for  the  over- 
worked hired  girls  of  the  North,  as  they  know  nothing 
of  the  many  restful  stops  our  self-protected  blacks  allow 
themselves  '  between  times.'  " 

Slavery  had  many  aspects.  On  the  occasion  of  my 
sister  Ellen's  marriage  I  was  visiting  at  my  fathers 
home.  Julia,  my  nurse,  was  of  course  deeply  interested 
in  the  preparations;  and  at  one  time  when  she  wished 
to  be  a  spectator,  my  nine-months-old  baby  declined 
to  oblige  her  by  going  to  sleep.  I  happened  to  follow 
her  into  a  darkened  room  where  she  had  taken  the  child 
to  be  rocked,  and  was  just  in  time  to  witness  a  heavy 
blow  administered  in  anger  to  the  little  creature.  In 
an.  instant  the  child  was  in  my  arms.    "  Go  out  of  my 


Home  Life.  21 

sight,"  I  said,  "  you  shall  never  touch  her  again.  You 
are  free  from  this  hour ! "  At  the  end  of  the  week  I 
was  seated  in  the  carriage  with  the  baby  on  my  lap, 
about  to  return  home.  Julia  stood  awaiting  orders.  I 
gave  her  none.  "  Shall  I  get  in  ?  "  she  finally  asked. 
"  You  are  free/'  said  I,  "  do  as  you  please."  She  hes- 
itated until  the  coachman  peremptorily  ordered  her  to 
get  in  and  let  him  drive  on. 

I  held  the  child  during  the  long  drive  to  Clinton, 
though  I  was  very  tired,  and  installed  another  nurse  as 
soon  as  I  reached  home,  ignoring  Julia's  existence. 
She  had  her  home  in  the  yard  and  her  meals  from  my 
,  table  as  before.  One  of  the  other  servants  finally  came 
to  me  saying :  "  I  declare,  Miss  Calline,  Julia  goin' 
to  die  if  you  doan'  giv'  her  somethin'  ter  do.  She  doan' 
eat  nothin'.  Can't  yo  set  her  ter  washin'  ?  "  "  She  may 
wash  for  herself  or  for  you  if  she  wishes,"  I  replied; 
"  she  is  free !  "  At  the  end  of  two  weeks  Julia  threw 
herself  at  my  feet  in  a  deluge  of  tears  begging  to  be 
forgiven  and  to  be  allowed  to  nurse  her  baby  again. 
I  gave  it  back  to  her;  but  the  child  had  turned  against 
her,  and  it  was  several  days  before  the  old  relations  were 
restored.  There  were  afterward  no  similar  ruptures, 
but  Julia  always  resented  the  slightest  reproof  or  ad- 
verse criticism  administered  to  that  child  by  parent  or 
teachers. 

At  twenty  I  was  the  mother  of  three  children,  born 
in  Clinton,  Louisiana.  My  last  and  youngest  came 
twelve  years  later.  When  my  friends  remarked  upon 
the  late  arrival  I  informed  them  that  he  had  come  in 
answer  to  special  prayer,  like  Hannah's  of  old,  so  that 


22  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

my  husband  might  have  a  child  to  comfort  his  old  age 
when  the  others  were  all  settled  in  homes  of  their  own. 

Children  are  our  treasure-idols;  we  are  joined  to 
them  by  our  heartstrings.  We  spend  anxious  days 
and  sleepless  nights  soothing  their  cries  and  comforting 
their  wailings,  and  we  rejoice  in  our  power  to  cherish 
and  nourish  them  into  a  full  and  happy  life  by  -any 
sacrifice  of  ourselves.  God  pity  the  desolate  little  ones 
who  come  into  the  world  unwelcomed,  and  grow  up  in 
loveless  homes!  When  in  the  great  yellow  fever 
epidemic  of  1878  I  lost  my  eldest  daughter,  my  good 
children,  David  and  Lula,  gave  me  their  baby  Bessie 
to  comfort  my  sorrow.  She  was  my  own  for  four  years. 
I  was  in  the  habit  of  inviting  my  cousin,  Miss  Carrie 
Brewer,  to  come  regularly  to  instruct  and  play  with  her, 
making  the  visits  a  recreation  for  both.  In  this  man- 
ner one  of  the  most  successful  teachers  of  the  kinder- 
gartens of  this  city  began  her  development,  and  thus  my 
interest  in   systematic  child  culture  was  inaugurated. 

Various  children  certainly  require  various  manage- 
ment. Their  education  cannot  begin  too  soon.  The 
Froebel  system  of  kindergarten  teaching  has  usually 
a  salutary  influence  on  troublesome  little  folks,  and 
is  deserving  of  the  increasing  attention  it  is  receiving. 
It  is  only  in  these  latest  days  of  the  century  that  the  ini- 
tiatory period  before  school-life  begins  has  had  any 
worthy  recognition. 

Mr.  Merrick  and  I  belonged  to  the  New  Orleans  Edu- 
cational Society.  I  was  chairman  of  a  committee  which 
was  requested  to  make  a  report  of  its  views  on  the 
meeting  of  June  4th,  1884.     Shortly  after  handing  in 


Home  Life.  23 

this  report — which  it  had  been  thought  proper  a  man 
should  read — we  attended  a  special  meeting  for  the 
annual  election  of  officers.  When  the  balloting  began, 
I  found  I  was  not  to  be  allowed  any  part  in  this  matter, 
though  paying  the  same  dues  ($5.00)  as  the  men,  and  a 
working  member  of  a  committee.  In  my  disgust  I  said : 
"  I  always  thought  that  a  vote  in  political  affairs  was 
withheld  from  woman  because  it  is  not  desirable  for  her, 
to  come  in  contact  with  the  common  rabble  lest  her 
purity  be  soiled.  She  should  never  descend  into  the 
foul,  dusty  arena  of  the  polling  booth ;  but  here  in 
Tulane  Hall  where  we  are  specially  invited,  in  the  re- 
spectable presence  of  many  good  men — some  of  them 
our  '  natural  protectors ' — it  is  not  fair ;  it  is  as  unjust 
as  it  would  be  for  me  to  invite  a  party  to  dinner  and 
then  to  summon  half  of  them  to  the  table  while  the 
other  half  are  required  to  remain  as  spectators  only  of 
the  feast  to  which  all  had  had  the  same  call."  After 
that  I  attended  no  other  meeting  of  the  Educational  So- 
ciety, and  requested  my  husband  to  discontinue  paying 
my  dues. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

RUMORS  OF  OUR  CIVIL  WAR. 

Mr.  Merrick  was  elected  chief-justice  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  Louisiana  in  the  year  of  1855.  I  went 
with  him  to  New  Orleans  for  that  winter  and  lived  at 
the  old  St.  Louis  hotel,  taking  my  maid  with  me,  but 
leaving  my  children  at  home  in  the  care  of  their  grand- 
mother. In  a  letter  dated  May  11th,  1856,  my  husband 
writes :  "  I  bought  a  house  yesterday,  at  public  auc- 
tion, which  I  think  will  do  very  well  for  us,  but  it  will 
cost  a  good  deal  to  make  it  as  comfortable  as  our  home 
at  Clinton.  The  property  is  in  Bouligny,  a  little  out 
of  the  city,  where  we  can  keep  our  horses.  There  is  a 
plank  road  to  the  city  and  the  railroad  station  will  be 
near  the  door.  It  is  an  old-fashionedFrench  house  built 
upon  brick  walls  and  pillars,  with  a  gallery  in  front  and 
rear.  I  send  you  a  plan  of  it  and  a  sketch  of  the  situ- 
ation. You  will  surely  be  pleased  with  the  place  after 
it  is  'arranged.  I  dined  with  Mr.  Christian  Roselius 
yesterday  and  he  congratulated  me  on  the  purchase ; 
says  it  is  delightful  to  live  out  of  town.  Bouligny 
is  in  the  city  of  Jefferson,  almost  half  a  mile  above 
Washington  Street.  There  are  six  fireplaces  in  the 
hou?e,  and  if  Aunt  Susan  does  not  like  any  of  those 

large    rooms    below    we    will  finish  off  one  above  or 
24 


Rumors  of  Our  Civil  War.  25 

build  one  for  her.  The  girls  will  go  to  school  in  the 
city  by  the  cars." 

We  had  done  some  house-hunting  the  winter  before, 
and  I  was  by  no  means  sure  I  should  like  living  out  of 
town.  In  his  next  letter  Mr.  Merrick  said :  "  I  do  not 
think  you  had  better  come  down  until  you  have  some- 
what recovered  from  your  disappointment.  I  have  read 
your  letter  while  my  colleagues  are  reading  opinions, 
and  now  I  take  some  of  the  precious  time  of  the  State 
to  try  to  console  you.  The  more  I  see  of  the  house  and 
its  neighborhood  the  better  I  like  it.  You  think  it  is  an 
isolated  place  up-town,  still  uninhabited.  Well,  in 
twenty  years  everything  will  be  different,  and  while  I 
have  you  and  the  children  in  the  house,  it  will  be  all 
right.  Therefore,  you  must  dry  up  your  tears  and  be 
happy." 

It  is  evident  that  the  home  chosen  was  not  such  as 
I  should  have  selected;  but  a  residence  in  it  for  nearly 
half  a  century  has  made  it  very  dear,  filled  as  it  is  with 
precious  memories  of  those  I  have  loved  and  lost.  So 
extensive  are  the  surrounding  grounds,  abounding  in 
flowers,  fruit-trees  and  gardens,  that  it  has  been  called 
"the  Merrick  Farm."  Now  that  Napoleon  Avenue  is 
built  up  with  elegant  residences,  this  large  square  with 
its  spacious,  old-fashioned,  double  French  cottage  pre- 
sents a  comfortable,  unique  appearance  in  the  midst  of 
its  modern  environment. 

So,  in  November,  1856,  I  removed  from  Clinton  to 
New  Orleans.  In  a  letter  written  to  Mr.  Merrick  dur- 
ing the  distresses  of  dismantling  the  old  home,  I  said: 
"  If  it  please  heaven  to  give  us  a  long  life  I  hope  it  may 


26  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

never  be  our  misfortune  to  move  many  times."  Heav- 
en seemed  to  have  been  propitious  to  my  wish,  for  here 
I  am  in  the  same  loved  home,  chosen  without  my  con- 
sent, but  where  I  expect  to  fold  my  willing  hands  and  be 
made  ready  for  my  final  resting  place. 

I  do  not  enter  upon  the  subject  of  the  civil  war  with 
a  disposition  either  to  justify  or  condemn;  and  it  is 
with  reluctance  that  I  revert  to  a  question  that  has  been 
settled  forever  by  fire  and  blood,  and  whose  adjustment 
has  been  accepted  even  by  the  vanquished.  But  as  this 
period  came  so  vitally  into  my  life,  these  recollections 
would  be  incomplete  without  it;  besides,  personal  rec- 
ords are  the  side-lights  of  history  and,  in  their  measure, 
the  truest  pictures  of  the  times.  Years  enough  have 
elapsed  to  make  a  trustworthy  historical  perspective, 
and  intelligent  Americans  should  now  be  able  to  look 
upon  the  saddest  war  that  ever  desolated  a  land  without 
favor  or  prejudice  and  to  use  conditions  so  severely 
cleared  of  the  great  evil  of  slavery  as  stepping-stones  to 
our  freedom  from  all  further  national  mischief. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  South  was  not  a  unit 
in  regard  to  secession.  The  Southwest  was  largely  a 
Whig  area,  and  in  the  election  of  1860  this  element 
voted  for  Bell  and  Everett  under  the  standard :  "  The 
Union,  the  Constitution  and  the  Enforcement  of  Law." 
It  has  always  been  a  question  whether  secession  would 
have  carried  could  it  have  been  put  to  the  test  of  a  popu- 
lar vote  in  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  Texas,  Arkansas  and 
Tennessee;  for  whatever  may  have  been  personally  be- 
lieved respecting  the  right  of  secession,  it  is  probable  the 
majority  of  Whigs  and  some  Democrats  doubted  its 


Rumors  of  Our  Civil  War.  27 

expediency.  The  most  solemn,  heart-breaking  hour 
in  the  history  of  the  States  was  that  in  which  men, 
shaken  with  sobs,  signed  the  ordinance  which  severed 
them  from  the  Union.  Up  to  that  hour  the  fight  by 
the  press  had  been  bitter.  But  when  the  fate  of  the 
State,  was  sealed,  the  Stars  and  Stripes  lowered  and  the 
State  flag  run  up  in  its  place,  almost  every  man,  irre- 
spective of  opinions,  accepted  its  destinies,  shouldered 
his  musket  and  marched  to  the  front — where  he  stayed 
until  a  bullet,  sickness  or  starvation  emptied  his  place 
in  the  ranks,  or  until  the  surrender  of  Lee  at  Ap- 
pomattox. 

Many  Southern  men  said :  "  Never  give  up  the 
United  States  flag;  let  us  settle  our  difficulties  under 
it."  On  a  Fourth  of  July  one  of  our  neighbors  illu- 
minated his  house  and  decorated  it  with  that  flag.  He 
was  entirely  unmolested.  We  were  kinder  in  that  in- 
stance to  Union  people  among  us  than  the  Yankees 
sometimes  were  to  "  copperhead  traitors "  at  the 
North.  A  very  few  Union  men  among  us  went  over 
the  other  side  of  the  Mason  and  Dixon  line ;  a  few  more 
remained  quietly  at  home,  under  great  stress  of  public 
opinion,  but  gave  of  their  substance,  and  usually  their 
sons,  to  the  Confederate  cause.  General  Banks  said, 
in  his  occupation  of  the  city,  "  I  could  put  all  the 
Union  men  in  New  Orleans  in  one  omnibus." 

This  was  a  season  of  great  anxiety  and  perplexity. 
After  the  war  became  inevitable  it  miay  be  said  that  no 
woman  wavered  in  her  allegiance  to  the  Southern 
cause.  Our  boys  clamored  to  be  allowed  to  enlist. 
From  Northern  relatives  came  letters  wailing:  "The 


28  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

war  cry  is  abroad;  blood  is  to  be  spilled,  the  nation 
is  to  be  involved  in  the  bitterest  of  all  wars.  It  may 
be  that  your  son,  David,  and  one  of  my  boys  may  meet 
in  deadly  conflict.  And  when  we  have  cut  each  other's 
throats,  destroyed  commerce,  ruined  cities,  demoral- 
ized the  people,  outraged  humanity,  what  have  we 
gained  ?  Nothing !  nothing !  Would  to  God  that  some 
Washington  might  arise  and  stay  the  deadly  strife, 
save  the  country  from  shame  and  disgrace  in  the  eyes 
of  the  world." 

On  the  other  side  was  asserted:  "We  have  nothing 
else  to  do  but  to  fight.  No  door  is  open  to  us.  Our 
position  as  freemen,  our  all  is  at  stake.  Without 
slavery  the  best  sugar  plantation  in  Louisiana  would 
be  worthless.  The  British  thought  our  forefathers 
were  wrong.  We  have  ten  times  the  cause  for  revolt 
which  they  had.  Constitutional  rights  are  invaded. 
We  shall  and  must  succeed." 

Our  son  David,  then  in  his  seventeenth  year,  was  at 
Centenary  College,  La.,  when  hostilities  began.  As  he 
saw  his  comrades  leaving  in  order  to  join  the  army  he 
became  very  impatient  to  do  likewise.  In  a  letter  of 
April  26,  1861,  replying  to  his  urgings,  I  wrote :  "  I 
know  you  will  not  think  us  unkind  in  asking  you  to 
continue  your  college  duties.  You  have  ever  been  true 
and  filial  without  having  it  exacted.  Persist  in  these 
relations,  my  dear  boy.  Write  us  freely  and  tell  us  in 
perfect  confidence  whatever  you  think  and  feel.  Do 
not  act  hastily.  We  do  not  refuse  your  request  but 
wish  you  to  wait  for  further  advice.  You  have  no  wife 
and  children,,  but  you  have  parents  and  sisters  to  fight 


Rumors  of  Our  Civil  War.  29 

for  (I  don't  count  little  Eddie).  I  know  you  are 
patriotic  and  are  willing  to  make  sacrifices  for  the  sake 
of  your  country,  but  you  must  learn  much  before  you 
go  into  the  army. 

"  27th.  afternoon. — Father  has  come  in  and  says 
Vice-President  Alexander  Stephens  writes  to  President 
Davis  that  there  are  plenty  of  men — as  many  soldiers 
as  are  now  wanted;  and  this  is  good  news.  With 
Virginia  added  to  the  Southern  Confederacy  we  ought 
to  carry  the  day.  It  is  a  pity  the  border  States  are  so 
dilatory.  Try  to  be  content  where  you  are  until  your 
turn  comes.  Your  father  says  it  will  come,  sure  and 
fast,  and  you  know  his  judgment  is  infallible.  Last 
night  I  went  to  the  Military  Fair  for  the  benefit  of  the 
soldiers." 

War  is  the  same  the  world  over,  and  the  women  are 
always  heroically  bearing  their  share  of  its  responsibil- 
ities. I  see  it  announced  in  this  morning's  paper 
(January  1st,  1900)  that  Adelina  Patti  and  the  Duch- 
ess of  Marlborough  are  to  appear  at  an  entertainment 
at  Covent  Garden  in  aid  of  the  English  fund  for  offi- 
cers' wives  and  families,  called  for  by  the  present  war 
in  South  Africa.  It  has  been  noted  that  after  the 
States  seceded  a  Union  woman  could  not  be  found  in 
the  entire  South.  However  that  may  be,  I  am  told  on 
authority  that  while  Jackson,  Miss.,  was  burning  and 
being  pillaged  by  troops  whose  horses  were  festooned 
with  women's  clothes,  General  Sherman  was  appealed 
to  by  a  Southern  woman.  "  Well,  madam,"  said  he, 
"  don't  you  know  that  the  Southern  women  and  the 
Methodist  Church  North  are  keeping  up  this  war.?" 


30  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

On  June  1st,  1861,  I  find  in  one  of  my  letters  to  my 
brother :  "  David  is  at  home.  We  are  willing  to  give 
him  to  our  country.  His  father  spares  no  trouble  or 
expense  to  fit  him  for  a  soldier's  duty.  He  has  a  drill- 
master  who  instructs  him  in  military  science  during 
the  day,  and  drills  him  with  the  '  State  Eights  Guards ' 
every  night.  This  Frenchman,  whose  name  I  cannot 
spell,  says  in  two  weeks  more  he  will  be  equal  to  a 
captain's  duties;  but  his  father  says  he  must  under- 
stand the  movements  of  a  brigade,  battalion  and  regi- 
ment, as  well  as  that  of  company  drill;  he  must  know 
something  and  become  qualified  for  everything;  so  I 
think  he  wishes  him  to  have  a  commission.  He  is  the 
sole  representative  of  our  immediate  family.  I  fear 
for  him,  his  youth  is  against  him — he  should  be  twenty- 
one  instead  of  seventeen — though  this  will  not  dis- 
qualify him  in  the  volunteer  service  if  he  is  competent. 
He  will  go  whenever  called." 

Thus  my  young  son  left  me  for  the  army  in  Virginia 
where  he  served  until  incapacitated  by  an  extraordi- 
nary wound  through  the  head  received  at  Seven  Pines 
while  a  member  of  the  staff  of  Gen.  Leroy  Stafford. 

After  this  my  brother  went  into  an  artillery  com- 
pany as  first  lieutenant,  and  I  went  to  the  Myrtle 
Grove  plantation  to  take  leave  of  him.  It  was  during 
my  temporary  absence  that  New  Orleans  fell  into  Fed- 
eral possession,  which  fact  caused  me  to  spend  the  whole 
period  of  the  war  with  my  family  on  the  Atehafalaya 
river  at  this  plantation,  having  ouly  occasional  visits 
from  my  husband,  who  found  it  necessary  to  take  the 
greater  portion  of  his  slaves  to  a  safer  place  in  another 


Rumors  of  Our  Civil  War.  31 

part  of  the  state.  His  own  liberty  was  also  threat- 
ened, and  since  one  of  his  colleagues,  Judge  Voorhies, 
had  been  taken  prisoner  and  detained  away  from  his 
family  and  official  business,  it  was  desirable  that  Judge 
Merrick  should  incur  no  such  risk. 

When  Louisiana  seceded  from  the  Union  many 
thought  that  no  blood  would  be  spilled;  that  the  Yan- 
kees would  not  fight,  and  would  never  learn  to  bear 
arms.  But  this  was  not  Mr.  Merrick's  opinion,  nor 
that  of  many  others.  The  men  we  called  Yankees  had 
fought  bravely  for  their  own  independence  and  gained 
it,  and  they  would  fight  if  necessary  again;  we  should 
see  our  soil  dug  up  and  earthworks  made  on  our  own 
secluded  plantations. 

I  left  my  New  Orleans  home  furnished  with  every 
comfort,  but  have  never  since  seen  it  in  that  perfect 
condition.  Under  General  Ben  Butler,  a  public  sale 
was  made  of  the  contents  of  the  dwelling,  stables  and 
outhouses  for  the  benefit  of  the  United  States.  Mrs. 
J.  Q.  A.  Fellows  told  me  she  counted  thirteen  wagon 
loads  of  furniture  taken  out,  and  had  she  known  me 
then  as  she  afterwards  did,  she  would  have  saved  many 
valuable  things  for  me.  I  owned  an  excellent  miscella- 
neous library,  a  new  piano,  valuable  carriages,  pictures, 
china  and  cut  glass — the  acquisition  of  twenty-five 
years,  belonging  to  me  personally  who  had  done  noth- 
ing to  bring  on  the  hostilities  between  the  sections.  1 
was  informed  that  my  carriage  was  appropriated  by 
a  Federal  officer  for  his  own  use. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  predictions  of  my  husband 
were  realized  by  General  Banks'  invading  our  retreat 


32  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

with  the  purpose  of  investing  Port  Hudson  in  the  rear, 
Farragut  meanwhile  was  trying  to  force  a  passage  past 
its  guns  on  the  Mississippi  river.  While  Gen.  Banks' 
command  was  in  transit  we  were  in  daily  and  hourly  con- 
tact with  the  troops.  When  Brig.-Gen.  Grover  ascer- 
tained that  my  household  consisted  of  women  alone,  he 
had  his  tent  pitched  very  near  the  dwelling,  inform- 
ing me  himself  that  he  did  this  to  secure  our  safety,  and 
assuring  me  that  we  should  be  unmolested  inside  the 
enclosure  of  cur  dooryard  and  the  lawn  bordering  in 
front  on  the  Atchafalaya  river.  To  this  end  three  men 
were  detailed  to  act  as  a  guard.  I  had  then  a  family 
consisting  of  two  daughters,  Laura  and  Clara,  their 
baby  brother  Edwin  and  the  two  Misses  Chalfant  and 
Miss  Little,  who  were  my  guests  for  a  long  time. 

We  were  abundantly  furnished  with  the  necessaries 
of  life,  and  had  a  bountiful  supply  of  vegetables  besides 
the  products  of  our  dairy  and  poultry  yard.  Lacking 
new  books  to  read  and  mail  to  bring  us  letters,  news- 
papers or  magazines,  there  yet  came  into  our  lives  an 
intenser  interest  in  what  was  before  us  so  constantly — 
this  war  between  the  North  and  the  South ;  and  in  one 
way  or  another  everybody,  white  and  black,  man,  wo- 
man and  child,  took  a  more  or  less  active  part  in  carry- 
ing it  on. 

A  letter  from  Mrs.  Mary  Wall  gives  the  following: 
"  I  hear  my  son  Benjamin  has  gone  to  the  war,  Willie 
too,  and  Bowman  has  joined  the  '  Hunter  Rifles.' 
There  is  nothing  talked  of  here  but  war.  God  help  me, 
but  it  is  hard !  I  nursed  these  boys  and  they  are  part 
of  myself;  life  would  be  utterly  barren  without  them. 


Rumors  of  Our  Civil  War.  33 

But  I  cannot  keep  them,  nor  say  a  word  to  stay  them 
from  defending  their  country;  but  I  think  it  will  kill 
me.  I  should  be  better  off  without  children  in  this 
extremity. 

"  What  do  you  think  the  North  intends  ?  Is  it  to  be 
a  war  of  extermination?  Have  you  read  Helper's 
book  ?  He  says,  '  Go  out  of  the  Union  to-day  and  we 
will  scourge  you  back  to-morrow,  and  make  the  banks 
of  the  Mississippi  one  vast  sepulchre,  but  you  shall 
give  up  your  slaves/ 

"  Christians  ought  to  pray  constantly  that  the  great 
Omnipotent  may  help  us.  We  cannot  fathom  God's 
plans.  I  am  ready  to  let  my  negroes  go  if  the  way 
opens,  but  I  do  not  see  that  it  is  my  duty  to  set  them 
free  right  here  and  now,  though  the  time  may  be  ap- 
proaching for  them  to  emerge  from  their  captivity. 
God's  will  is  just  and  good.  Oh  for  perfect  reliance 
on  His  promises  to  all  who  love  and  serve  Him !  " 

Those  who  were  a  part  of  ante-bellum  affairs  will 
remember  how  earnestly  serious-minded  and  conscien- 
tious slaveholders  discussed  the  possibility  of  gradual 
emancipation  as  advocated  by  Henry  Clay.  The  ne- 
groes were  in  their  possession  by  inheritance  and  by  the 
customs  and  laws  of  the  land  in  which  they  were  born. 
The  slaves  were  not  only  a  property  which  had  come 
to  them  as  a  birthright,  but  also  a  responsibility  which 
could  not  be  laid  aside  except  in  a  manner  that  would 
secure  the  future  good  of  the  slave,  with  proper  consid- 
eration for  what  was  justly  due  the  master  and  his 
posterity  in  the  settlement  of  the  great  question.  If 
politicians  on  both  sides,  who  cared  more  for  party 
3 


34  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

control  and  for  the  money  value  of  a  negro  than  for 
the  nation's  good,  could  have  been  ordered  to  the  rear, 
there  is  little  doubt  but  that  slaveholder  and  abolition- 
ist and  the  great  American  people  could  have  been 
brought  to  weigh  the  subject  together  on  its  own  merits, 
and  slavery  might  have  been  abolished  to  the  satisfac- 
tion of  North  and  South  by  law  instead  of  in  a  cata- 
clysm of  blood. 

Those  were  anxious  days  when  families  were  left 
without  their  male  protectors  and  we  women  had  only 
ourselves  and  our  young  children  in  our  disquieted 
homes.  Yet  we  were  cheerful  and  marvelously  com- 
forted, drawing  nearer  day  by  day  to  the  Almighty 
Father,  and  sleeping  the  sleep  of  the  just,  though  often 
awakened  by  the  sound  of  guns  and  to  the  sight  of 
Federal  blue-coats  drawn  up  in  battle-line  with  gleam- 
ing bayonets.  There  was  fasting  and  prayer  every- 
where during  all  the  long  struggle.  The  most  pathetic 
sight  was  thousands  of  women,  children  and  slaves, 
with  the  few  non-combatant  men  the  army  had  spared, 
on  their  knees  in  daily  union  prayer-meetings,  at  sun- 
rise or  sunset,  before  the  God  of  Battles. 

Each  of  us  sympathized  with  the  words  of  Lizzie 
Dowdell,  writing  in  May,  1861:  "  1  do  believe  the  Lord 
is  on  our  side.  If  we  fail,  God  have  mercy  on  the  world 
— for  the  sem'blance  of  human  liberty  will  have  fled. 
The  enemy  has  men,  money,  horses  and  chariots;  they 
are  strong  and  boastful.  Our  sins  may  be  flagrant,  and 
we  may  need  to  be  scourged  with  scorpions;  but  will 
God  permit  us  to  be  overwhelmed  ?  "  Both  sides  re- 
ferred their    case    to    the    Court    of  Heaven — as  the 


Rumors  of  Our  Civil  War.  35 

assaulted  Boers  are  doing  to-day.  If  they  sink  be- 
neath the  unlimited  re-sources  of  the  British,  will  the 
triumph  of  might  now  be  the  triumph  of  right  and  of 
human  liberties?  Three  and  one-half  decades  have 
softened  the  shadow  of  prejudice  and  the  high  lights  of 
self-interest.  It  is  well  for  the  whole  nation  that  sla- 
very has  been  abolished  and  the  Union  preserved.  How 
much  loss  will  be  revealed  by  time  in  the  sacrifices  of 
the  rights  of  States  against  Federal  encroachment,  is 
a  problem  for  future  statesmanship.  But  it  is  certain 
to-day  that  the  moral  loss  to  the  United  States  by  the 
civil  war  will  not  be  recovered  in  fifty  years;  while  the 
baneful  corruption  of  public  sentiment  and  the  ruling 
Administration,  by  reason  of  the  late  Spanish-Ameri- 
can conflict,  is  sufficiently  apparent  to  send  every 
Christian  to  his  knees,,  or  to  the  ballot-box — the  only 
worldly  corrector  of  political  wrongs. 

We  set  a  second  table  for  our  guard.  One  middle- 
aged  man  named  Peter,  a  very  young  German  and  an- 
other— all  foreigners — made  up  the  trio.  I  had  every 
delicacy  within  my  reach  provided  for  them,  and  in- 
sisted that  my  young  ladies  should  see  that  the  table 
was  arranged  tastefully,  enjoining  it  on  them  that  they 
should  respond  politely  whenever  they  were  spoken  to. 
The  young  German  on  entering  the  yard  stooped  and 
pulled  a  rose  which  he  gaily  pinned  on  his  coat. 
"  See,"  said  one  of  the  girls  at  the  window,  "  that  mean 
Yankee  is  taking  our  flowers !  "  "  It  is  a  good  sign," 
I  replied,  "that  he  will  never  do  us  any  greater  harm. 
He  has  a  kind  expression  on  his  blond  young  face  and 
in  his    honest    blue    eyes;"    and    this    fair-faced    boy 


36  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

proved  a  valuable  protector  on  many  occasions.  He  had 
learned  his  English  in  the  army  and  to  our  horror  was 
terribly  addicted  to  profanity.  Instead  of  the  ordi- 
nary response  to  one  of  our  remarks  he  would  come  out 
with  "  The  hell,  you  say ! "  even  when  spoken  to  by  one 
of  the  girls.  Nevertheless  when  at  last  these  faithful 
enemy-friends  took  up  their  line  of  march,  we  were 
friendly  enemies,  and  regretfully  saw  them  depart. 


CHAPTEK  V. 

MY    DAUGHTER    LAURA'S    DIARY. 

From  my  daughter  Laura's  diary,  May  21st,  1863, 
let  me  quote :  "  The  Yankees  have  been  passing  this 
house  all  day,  regiment  after  regiment  on  their  way  to 
attack  Port  Hudson.  Two  transports  have  also  gone 
by  on  the  river  crowded  with  soldiers.  Heaven  pro- 
tect our  beleaguered  men — so  few  against  so  many !  A 
Lieutenant  Francis  was  perfectly  radiant  this  morning 
because  a  boat  was  waiting  to  take  his  regiment  (the 
6th  New  York)  North,  as  their  time  is  out.  He  was 
very  cordial,  perhaps  because  he  has  a  brother  in  the 
Confederate  army. 

"  A  Dutch  cavalry  sergeant  lingered,  and  for  half  an 
hour  stood  guard,  with  his  drawn  sword  keeping  away 
many  of  the  vandals.  He  claimed  to  belong  to  the  regu- 
lar United  States  army  and  said  his  time  would  be  up  in 
four  months  when  he  should  return  '  to  de  f aderland," 
but  he  thought  they  would  '  vip '  us  at  Port  Hudson. 
When  a  negro  and  a  white  man  came  together  through 
the  backyard  for  water  from  the  cistern,  with  horrible 
oaths  and  imprecations  he  drew  his  sword  and  with  the 
back  of  it  struck  the  negro  and  ordered  them  both  to 
leave.  '  You  nigger,'  said  he,  '  you  hab  no  peesnis  to 
enter  de  blantation !  ve  don'  vant  you !  you  steals  ebery- 

37 


38  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

ting ! '     I  am  sorry  for  the  poor  deluded  negroes  who 
flock  after  this  army. 

"  We  were  all  in  the  parlor  this  evening  when  five 
Yankee  quartermasters  came  in  out  of  the  rain.  '  Old 
Specs/  as  we  call  him,  was  among  the  number.  They 
introduced  each  other  and  then  very  pressingly  re- 
quested me  to  play  the  '  Bonnie  Blue  Flag.'  At  last  I 
complied  and  began  to  sing,  though  it  nearly  kills  me 
to  be  polite  to  the  Yanks : 

"  '  As  long  as  the  union  was  faithful  to  her  trust, 

Like  friends  and  like  brothers  we  were  kind,  we  were 

just, 
But  now  that  Northern  treachery ' 

"  Here  I  broke  down,  and  bursting  into  tears,  left  the 
room  with  my  handkerchief  to  my  eyes.  They  then 
expressed  sorrow  that  my  feelings  should  have  been  so 
disturbed  and  sent  Clara  to  ask  me  to  come  back. 
She  begged  so,  I  dried  my  tears  and  returned.  Two 
of  them  engaged  in  a  discussion  with  me.  One  said: 
'  The  secession  vote  in  Louisiana  was  controlled  and 
indicated  nothing.'  '  In  all  true  republican  govern- 
ments,' I  answered,  '  the  voice  of  the  people  is  the  voice 
of  God;  we  do  not  live  under  an  aristocracy  or  a  mon- 
archy.' '  But,'  said  the  man,  '  two-thirds  of  the  people 
were  not  permitted  to  vote;  your  negroes  did  not  go  to 
the  polls.'  '  They  are  not  freemen,'  I  replied — ( but 
being  a  woman  I  know  nothing ' — and  again  the  tears 
rushed  to  my  eyes.  'Thereupon,  one  of  them,  Capt. 
Ives,  joined  in,  saying :  ( The  masters  voted  for  the 
negroes  of  course,  and,'  he  continued,  '  it  is  not  fair — 


My  Daughter  Laura's  Diary.  39 

two  gentlemen  against  one  lady.  I  take  the  lady's 
part.'  Then  in  a  lower  tone,  but  a  perfectly  audible 
one,  he  said :  '  For  God's  sake  talk  of  something  else 
besides  the  Union  and  the  Confederacy.  I'm  sick  of 
both.' 

"  Mrs.  Phillips,  with  Mrs.  French,  our  neighbor, 
went  down  to  headquarters  to  ask  Gen.  Banks  for  a 
guard.  She  reports  that  he  said  he  would  give  her 
none,  for  it  was  the  women  who  had  brought  on  and 
now  encouraged  the  war.  Mrs.  French  said  she  only 
wished  to  be  protected  from  insult,  and  from  hearing 
such  frightful  prof anity.  '  Madam,'  said  he,  '  this 
war  is  enough  to  make  any  man  swear.  I  swear  my- 
self.' '  But/  said  she,  '  I  wish  to  spare  my  Christian 
mother,  who  is  aged  and  infirm.'  '  Well/  said  Gen. 
Banks,  c  I  can't  make  her  young.'  When  she  told  us 
about  it  I  replied :  '  Banks  is  nearly  as  much  of  a 
brute  as  Butler  himself.' 

"Tues.  May  22,  1863.— Capt.  Callender  of  Weit- 
zel's  staff  and  Capt.  Hall  of  Emory's  came  last  night 
to  inquire  if  the  soldiers  troubled  us.  They  were  very 
polite  and  spoke  so  kindly  that  they  reminded  us  of 
Southerners.  It  is  a  pity  to  see  such  perfect  gentle- 
men in  such  an  army.  They  offered  us  a  guard  which 
I  declined,  telling  them  we  were  Southerners,  so  not 
afraid;  for  it  galls  me  to  be  obliged  to  have  Yankee 
protection.  Mother  has  been  so  worried  since,  and 
Clara  reproached  me  so  severely  for  refusing  the  guard 
that  I  have  wished  I  had  done  differently,  and  I  was 
glad  when  the  overseer's  big  dog  came  and  lay  down 
before  our  door.     I  thought  it  was  a  special  providence. 


40  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

We  have  always  heard  Gen.  Weitzel  well  spoken  of; 
he  evidently  has  men  like  himself  on  his  staff. 

"  Monday,  May  25,  1863. — Saturday  evening  our 
hopes  of  Gen.  Kirby  Smith  being  able  to  detain  Gen. 
Weitzel  were  clashed  to  the  ground.  Two  Yankees 
said  they  were  all  safe  at  Simmsport  except  two  hun- 
dred cavalry  captured  by  our  boys;  but  their  rear  had 
been  much  worried.  One  of  these  Yankees  was  sick 
and  asked  permission  to  lie  on  our  front  gallery. 
Mother  brought  him  some  cold  mint-tea  which  he  at 
first  declined,  but  when  he  saw  her  taste  it  he  changed 
his  mind  and  drank  it.  The  man  said  afterward  he 
was  afraid  she  wanted  to  poison  him  till  he  saw  her 
take  a  spoonful.  Then  she  brought  out  a  big  arm- 
chair and  pillows  and  made  him  as  comfortable  as  she 
could.  He  was  grateful,  and  stated  that  he  was  only 
doing  his  duty  righting  for  the  old  flag. 

"  One  afternoon  Sallie  Miller  rode  past,  with  a 
Yankee  officer.  Shame  on  her!  Two  young  lady 
guests  on  their  way  to  Bayou  Goula  saw  her  and  were 
indignant  with  any  Southern  girl  who  would  ride  with 
a  Yankee  in  the  presence  of  their  army. 

"  Yesterday  a  quartermaster  drove  into  the  lot, 
breaking  the  gate  which  was  locked,  and  going  to  the 
corn-crib.  At  the  instance  of  the  Missouri  Yankee, 
propped  up  in  the  rocking-chair,  we  all  ran  out  to  the 
lot,  and  mother  talked  so  to  him,  Clara  and  I  assisting 
volubly,  that  he  agreed  to  take  only  two  wagon  loads 
of  the  corn.  He  seemed  actually  ashamed  for  break- 
ing our  fence,  and  we  were  just  in  time  to  save  the  crib 
door  by  giving  him  the  key.  . 


My  Daughter  Laura's  Diary.  41 

"  We  saw  some  soldiers  driving  our  cattle  and  milch 
cows  and  calves  from  a  field.  '  What  a  shame ! '  said  I. 
A  chaplain  I  suppose,  dressed  in  a  fine  black  suit,  who 
had  come  in  to  get  water,  replied :  '  Our  object,  miss, 
is  to  starve  you  out  so  that  your  brothers,  husbands  and 
sons  will  quit  fighting  and  come  home  to  provide  bread 
for  you.  On  what  ground  can  you  expect  protection  ?  ' 
he  asked  my  mother.  *  Is  your  husband  a  Union  man  ?  ' 
1  No,  indeed ! '  I  struck  in,  '  he  is  a  true  Southerner.' 
He  saw  a  spur  hanging  up,  and  remarked  that  there 
was  a  man  about.  Clara  answered :  '  It  belongs  to 
my  brother.'  Then  the  man  said :  '  I  won't  ask  where 
he  is,  for  you  might  be  afraid  to  tell.'  '  I  am  not 
afraid,'  replied  Clara.  '  You  may  know  as  well  as  I 
that  he  is  not  here.     He  is  in  Virginia.' 

"  Mother  remonstrated  about  her  cows  being  driven 
off  to  be  slaughtered ;  but  seeing  that  it  was  useless  ex- 
claimed at  last,  *  Well,  take  them  all ! '  This  was  too 
much  for  Asa  Peabody,  who  seemed  to  be  a  friend  to 
our  sick  soldier;  he  informed  the  lieutenant  in  com- 
mand that  he  was  on  guard  by  Gen.  Weitzel's  orders, 
and  intended  nothing  should  be  taken  off  the  place ;  and 
he  turned  two  of  our  best  cows  back  into  our  front 
yard. 

"  The  men  came  continually  to  the  cistern  for  drink- 
ing water.  Mother  said :  '  Let  the  water  be  free,  I  am 
glad  to  have  protection  for  some  things,  but  the  heavens 
will  send  down  more  rain  if  the  last  drop  is  used.' 
One  of  them  observing  some  of  the  girls  at  the  window, 
drained  his  cup  and  taking  off  his  cap  to  them  shouted : 
' Success  to  our  cause  !'•  'To  ours ! '  I  called  back.  '  No,' 


42  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

he  said,  '  I  drink  to  the  Union.  I  hope  to  get  to  Port 
Hudson  before  it  falls  ! '  One  impertinent  fellow  asked : 
'  Will  you  answer  me  one  question,  miss !  Who  have 
destroyed  most  of  your  property,  Yankees  or  Eebels  ? ' 
'  The  Yankees,  of  course,'  I  said.  '  Well,  yours  is  an 
exceptional  case/  he  retorted.  Oh !  I  never  saw  so 
many  soldiers  and  so  many  cannon ! 

"  Asa  Peabody  was  reproved  by  our  Missourian  for 
using  profane  language  in  the  presence  of  ladies.  He 
answered  very  contritely,  '  I'll  be  damned  if  I  will  do 
so  any  more !  You  are  right.'  He  was  a  brave,  good 
man.  We  heard  of  his  kindness  to  many  women  along 
the  march,  and  I  hope  our  guerillas  whom  he  so 
dreaded — as  anybody  in  the  world  would — did  not  get 
him,,  for  he  vowed  he  should  '  keep  his  eyes  peeled '  for 
them. 

"  In  a  recent  bombardment  at  Port  Hudson — when 
the  spectacle  was  sublime — an  old  negro  woman  said 
she  knew  the  world  was  coming  to  an  end  '  becaze  de 
white  folks  dun  got  so  dey  kin  make  lightnin'.' 

"May  26,  1863. — A  Yankee  officer  called  yesterday 
evening;  said  he  belonged  to  the  famous  (infamous,  I 
say)  Billy  Wilson  Zouaves,  whose  bad  character  is  now 
wholly  undeserved.  We  were  still  in  the  parlor  when 
Col.  Irwin,  Asst.-Ad.-Gen.,  called,  another  officer  with 
him.  We  tried  to  be  civil,  but  I  deeply  feel  the  humil- 
iation of  enforced  association  with  this  invading 
enemy.  However,  Gen.  Grover  has  been  very  consider- 
ate since  he  knew  we  are  a  household  of  women.  Two 
wagon-masters  came  for  corn  and  took  what  they 
wanted,    breaking    open    the    crib.     A    chaplain,    Mr. 


My  Daughter  Laura's  Diary.  43 

Whiteman,  very  kindly  took  a  note  from  mother  to 
Gen.  Grover,  and  promised  to  intercede  for  her.  The 
General  came  immediately,  and  said  nothing  more 
should  be  taken  unless  it  was  paid  for.  Mother  de- 
clared she  would  beg  her  bread  before  she  would  buy 
it  with  their  money;  but  I  told  her  she  had  begged  the 
bread  of  the  family,  which  already  belonged  to  us,  by 
prayers  and  intercessions  and  tears  enough  to  make  it 
very  bitter  food.  Some  of  the  quartermasters  have, 
since  given  her  statements  of  what  has  been  taken  from 
Myrtle  Grove.  '  Corn  we  must  have/  said  one  man. 
'but  I  will  leave  this  untouched  if  you  will  tell  me 
where  I  can  procure  more  on  some  other  plantation.' 
Mother  then  directed  him  to  Tanglewood  where  father 
had  an  immense  quantity  stored,,  and  from  which  place 
the  hands  had  all  been  moved  into  the  interior,  after 
the  large  crop  of  cotton  had  been  burned  by  our  own 
people.  When  this  cotton  on  Tanglewood  was  burning 
the  negroes  stood  around  crying  bitterly;  and  father 
and  mother  both  call  it  t  suicidal  policy  of  the  Confed- 
erates '  to  destroy  the  only  f  sinew  of  the  war '  we  have 
which  will  bring  outside  cash  to  purchase  arms  and 
other  military  supplies." 

It  should  be  related  that  when  we  heard  of  General 
Banks'  being  at  Simmsport  my  daughter  Clara  thought 
we  ought  to  send  or  go  at  once  to  his  headquarters  and 
ask  for  protection.  I  find  the  following  copy  of  a  let- 
ter which  partly  explains  the  safety  accorded  us  by  the 
Federal  army  during  the  period  recounted. 


44  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

"To  Major  General    Banks,    in    Command  of   U.    S. 
Troops  at  Simmsport,  La. 

"Dear  Sir: 

"  I  reside  near  the  head  of  the  Atchaf alaya  where  it 
first  flows  out  of  Old  Elver,  and  our  male  friends  are 
all  absent.  We  are  all  natives  of  Louisiana,  and,  though 
we  cannot  bid  you  welcome,  we  hope  and  trust  we  may 
confide  in  your  protection  and  in  the  generosity  and 
honor  which  belongs  to  United  States  officers. 

"  We  have  no  valuable  information  to  give,  nor  do 
we  think  you  would  ask  or  require  us  to  betray  our  own 
people  if  we  had  it  in  our  power.  But  we  can  promise 
to  act  fairly  and  honorably,  and  to  do  nothing  unwor- 
thy the  high  character  of  Judge  Merrick,  who  is  the 
head  of  this  family.  Therefore,  we  expect  to  prove 
ourselves  worthy  of  any  generous  forbearance  you  may 
find  it  in  your  power  to  extend  toward  defenseless  wo- 
men and  children,  who  appeal  thus  to  your  sympathy 
and  manhood;  for 

"  '  No  ceremony  that  to  great  one  'longs, 

Not  the  King's  crown,  nor  the  deputed  sword, 
The  marshal's  truncheon,  nor  the  judge's  robe, 
Become  them  with  one-half  so  good  a  grace 
As  mercy  does.' 

e*  Very  respectfully, 

"  Caroline  E.  Merrick.'' 

The  result  of  this  letter,  which  I  presented  in  person, 
was  the  following  pass : 


My  Daughter  Laura's  Diary.  45 

"  Headquarters,  Department  of  the  Gulf, 
19th  Army  Corps, 
Simmes'    Plantation,  May  19,  1863. 
"  Guards  and  Patriots : 

"Pass  Mr.  Chalfant,  Mrs.  Merrick,  and  party,  with 
their  carriages  and  drivers,  to  their  homes,  near  the 
head  of  the  Atchafalaya. 

"Richd.  B.  Irwin, 

"A.  A.  General." 

"Camp  Clara,  Jackson,  Miss.,  May  31,  1863.— We 
have  good  water  and  our  men  are  improving,  but  many 
are  ill  with  typhoid  fever" — thus  my  brother  wrote. 
"  The  sickness  enlists  my  deepest  sympathy.  The 
number  of  soldiers'  graves  is  astonishing.  From 
morning  until  night  negroes  are  constantly  digging 
them  for  instant  use.  General  Lovell  inspected  our 
battery  the  other  day  and  said  he  wanted  it  down  on 
the  river ;  so  just  as  soon  as  our  horses  arrive  we  are  to 
go  to  work.  The  men  are  well  drilled,  but  we  lack 
horses  and  ammunition.  I  hear  David's  regiment  is 
at  Petersburg,  Va." 

In  Confederate  times  the  people  were  patient  under 
the  sickness  in  camp,  and  never  a  complaint  was  sent 
to  Richmond  about  poor  food  and  bad  water  which 
caused  as  many  fatalities  as  powder  and  ball.  Increased 
knowledge  and  improved  methods  of  camp  sanitation 
seem  almost  to  justify  the  indignant  protests  against 
embalmed  beef  and  typhoid-breeding  water  that  have 
been  heaped  upon  Congress  and  officers  of  the  War 


46  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

Department  in  the  late  Spanish-American  war.  One 
out  of  the  four  of  my  fathers  great-grandsons  who 
enlisted  for  the  Spanish-American  struggle  lost  his 
life  in  an  unhealthy  Florida  camp  before  he  could 
be  sent  to  Cuba.  It  is  plain  to  every  fair-minded 
investigator  that  many  of  these  fatalities  were  due  to 
a  lack  of  those  essentials  in  which  every  housekeeping 
woman,  by  nature  and  training,  is  especially  qualified. 
It  was  a  relief  to  the  minds  of  the  mothers  of  the  na- 
tion to  learn  that  near  the  close  of  the  late  Cuban  con- 
flict a  woman  had  been  appointed  on  the  National 
Military  Medical  Commission.  It  is  a  woman's  proper 
vocation  to  care  for  the  sick.  Men  who  would  exclude 
women  from  the  ballot-box  on  the  plea  that  they  only 
who  fight  ought  to  vote,  should  remember  Clara  Bar- 
ton and  Florence  Nightingale  who  have  served  armies 
so  effectually. 

Elizabeth  Barrett  Browning  said :  "  The  nursing 
movement  is  a  revival  of  old  virtues.  Since  the  siege 
of  Troy  and  earlier  we  have  had  princesses  binding 
wounds  with  their  hands.  It  is  strictly  the  woman's 
part,  and  men  understand  it  so.  Every  man  is  on  his 
knees  before  ladies  carrying  lint;  whereas  if  they  stir 
an  inch  as  thinkers  or  artists  from  the  beaten  line  (in- 
volving more  good  to  general  humanity  than  is  in- 
volved in  lint),  the  very  same  men  would  condemn  the 
audacity  of  the  very  same  women." 

A  young  naval  officer,  at  my  dinner  table,  once  dis- 
sented from  such  views  which  I  had  expressed,  and  of 
which  Bishop  Warren  of  the  M.  E.  Church  had  heartily 
approved.     "Until    women,"    said   this   young   officer, 


My  Daughter  Laura's  Diary.  47 

"  furnish  this  government  for  its  defense  with  soldiers 
and  sailors  from  their  own  ranks  they  should  be  prohib- 
ited from  voting."  "  Dear  sir,"  I  replied,  "  how  many 
soldiers  and  sailors  does  this  country  now  possess  in  its 
active  service  whom  the  women  have  not  already  fur- 
nished from  their  own  ranks  ?  " 

The  young  man  yielded  but  was  not  convinced.,  even 
when  an  eminent  physician  remarked  that  he  had  heard 
many  a  young  mother  say  that  she  would  rather  march 
up  to  the  cannon's  mouth  than  to  lie  down  to  meet  her 
peculiar  trial.  He  further  stated  that  when  their  hour 
came  they  were  always  full  of  courage,  and,  in  his  opin- 
ion, their  maternity  ought  to  count  for  something  to 
them  of  great  value  in  the  government. 

All  men  in  an  army  do  not  fight.  No  more  impor- 
tant branch  of  the  military  service  existed  during  the 
civil  war  than  that  which  the  women  of  the  Confed- 
eracy controlled.  They  planted  and  gathered  and 
shipped  the  crops  which  fed  the  children  and  slaves 
at  home  and  the  armies  in  the  field;  they  raised  the 
wool  and  cotton  that  clothed  the  soldiers  and  the  hogs 
and  cattle  that  made  their  meat;  they  spun  and  wove 
the  crude  product  into  cloth  for  the  home  and  the 
army;  their  knitting  needles  clicked  until  the  great 
surrender,  manufacturing  all  the  socks  and  "  sweat- 
ers "  and  comforters  which  the  Confederate  soldier- 
boys  possessed — our  nearly  naked  boys  toward  the 
last,  so  often  on  the  march  called  "  Bagged  Bebels." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

.WAR-MEMORIES :      HOW   BECKY   COLEMAN"   WASHED   HES- 
TER whitefield's  face. 

Among  the  Federal  vessels  stationed  at  Red  River 
Landing  was  the  Manhattan,  commanded  by  Captain 
Grafton,  a  high-minded  officer  as  the  following  inci- 
dent proves.  A  letter  from  Laura  Ellen  to  her 
brother     David,     dated    at     Myrtle     Grove,     records: 

Stephen  Brown,  mother  s  head  manager  on  this  place, 
has  been  very  sick.  Dr.  Archer,  who  was  stopping  with 
us  all  night,  went  to  see  him,  and  after  an  examination, 
reported  that  he  could  do  nothing  to  relieve  him  with- 
out chloroform  and  surgical  instruments,  both  of  which 
were  inaccessible  and  out  of  the  question;  and  he  can- 
didly told  mother  Stephen  could  not  live  twenty-four 
hours  without  an  operation.  Mother,  heart-broken  and 
in  tears,  begged  the  doctor  to  tell  her  to  what  means 
she  could  resort  to  save  so  faithful  a  servant.  The 
doctor  said  they  had  everything  needful  on  the  Fed- 
eral gunboats.  Mother  instantly  determined  to  go  to 
Red  River  Landing  and  appeal  for  help ;  but  she  wished 
Dr.  Archer  to  go  with  her  and  explain  the  case.  He 
objected,  saying  he  had  never  held  any  communica- 
tion with  the  enemy,  and  he  did  not  wish  to  spoil  his 
48 


War  Memories.  49 

record  with  the  Confederates.     But  mother  finally  in- 
duced him  to  accompany  her. 

"  It  seemed  to  us  a  forlorn  hope.  When  she  started 
off  with  Dr.  Archer,  mother  enjoined  it  upon  us  to  have 
the  best  dinner  that  we  could  prepare  for  the  officers 
who  were  to  come  back  with  her,  which  suggestion  we 
took  the  liberty  of  overlooking,  as  we  did  not  dream 
she  could  succeed  in  such  an  unheard-of  undertaking. 
When  she  reached  the  Mississippi  and  waved  her  hand- 
kerchief, a  tug  came  from  the  gunboat  to  the  shore  and 
she  asked  to  see  the  commanding  officer.  The  tug 
offered  to  take  mother  to  the  gunboat,  but  at  first  ob- 
jected to  the  doctor  going  with  her.  Finally  both 
went,  and  were  received  on  the  deck  of  the  big  war- 
ship. Captain  Grafton  said  he  feared  that  any  sur- 
geon or  officer  might  be  captured,  and  that  he  must 
have  a  written  guarantee  against  that  possibility  before 
he  could  run  such  a  risk.  Mother  told  him  that  Cap- 
tain Collins  and  his  scouts  were  thirty  miles  distant; 
she  could  only  assure  him  that  none  who  came  to  her 
aid  would  be  molested.  Dr.  Archer  supported  her 
opinion;  but  the  captain  declined  the  adventure; 
whereupon  mother  burst  into  tears.  '  Captain  Graf- 
ton,' she  said,  ( I  did  not  come  here  to  teach  you  your 
duty ;  but  I  came  to  perform  mine.  Now  if  the  negro's 
life  is  not  saved,  his  death  will  lie  at  your  door,  not 
mine.'  Capt.  Grafton  replied:  e Madam,  I  don't  like 
you  to  put  it  that  way ! '  Moved  by  that  view  or  her 
tears — he  sent  the  tug  for  the  captains  of  two  other 
gunboats,  and  the  three  held  a  council  of  war,  finally 
consenting  that  a  surgeon  with  his  assistants  and  the 
4 


50  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

necessary  equipments  should  have  leave  to  go  provided 
he  would  himself  assume  the  responsibility  for  his  ab- 
sence from  the  boat,  for  the  military  authorities  would 
make  no  order  about  it.  Thus  Dr.  Mitchell  first  came 
to  Myrtle  Grove  on  an  errand  of  mercy. 

"  None  was  more  surprised  than  mother  herself 
when  Dr.  H.  W.  Mitchell,  surgeon  of  the  Manhattan, 
offered  to  go  with  her.  It  had  been  eight  months 
since  these  Federal  naval  attaches  had  set  foot  on  land, 
and  apparently  they  greatly  enjoyed  the  long  drive 
with  only  a  handkerchief  for  a  flag  of  truce  floating 
from  the  carriage  window.  The  doctor  went  to  the 
'  Quarters '  to  see  Stephen,  and  mother  flew  to  the 
kitchen  and  dining-room  to  put  forth  her  rare  culinary 
skill  in  compensation  for  our  negligence.  After  dinner 
we  had  music,  and  Dr.  Mitchell  sang  us  many  new 
songs,  and  proved  to  be  very  intelligent,  entertain- 
ing and  agreeable.  I  treated  him  well,  too,  as  I 
was  bound  to  do  after  his  kindness.  At  dinner  I  had 
on  a  homespun  dress  trimmed  with  black  velvet  and 
Pelican  buttons:  when  they  went  away  I  even  gave  the 
doctor  my  hand,  'though  always  before  I  had  refused  to 
shake  hands  with  a  single  one  of  them.  Not  for  any- 
thing on  earth  '  would  I  have  done  as  much  pre- 
viously/ " 

During  the  many  months  that  the  TJ.  S.  gunboat 
Manhattan  remained  at  Eed  Eiver  Landing,  I  saw  the 
officers  from  time  to  time,  and  once  a  crevasse  detained 
Dr.  Mitchell  for  three  days  in  our  home.  The  friend- 
ship thus  established  has  outlived  the  war  and  proved 
a  source  of  great  pleasure  to  me;  while  the  sympathy 


War  Memories.  51 

the  doctor  so  kindly  extended  later,  during  the  bitter 
reconstruction  days,  was  a  solid  satisfaction  and  com- 
fort, for  his  cultured  and  experienced  mind  compre- 
hended both  sides  of  the  situation.  Devoted  to  the 
Union,  he  yet  expressed  no  inordinate  desire  to  extermi- 
nate the  South,  and  never  said  he  would  be  glad  to 
hang  Jefferson  Davis.  He  writes  July  30,  1865 :  "  We 
are  all  Americans.  We  speak  one  language;  our  flag 
is  the  same ;  we  are  citizens  of  the  United  States.  It  is 
the  right  spirit  to  recognize  no  section.  If  all  should 
uphold  the  Government  faithfully  under  which  we  en- 
joy so  many  blessings,  internal  strife  in  the  future  will 
be  impossible." 

"  Mother  says,"  the  diary  continues,  "  let  an  army  be 
friend  or  foe,  it  takes  everything  it  needs  for  its  subsist- 
ence on  the  march,  and  starvation  is  in  its  track.  Brig.- 
Gen.  Grover's  Division  camped  for  two  weeks  on  this 
plantation,  and  the  General's  own  tent  was  pitched  next; 
to  our  side  gate.  When  some  of  his  staff  were  here  vis- 
iting, one  of  them  took  baby  Edwin  in  his  arms  and 
kissed  him.  After  they  had  gone  I  scolded  him  for 
kissing  a  Yankee,  and  said  I  was  going  to  tell  his 
'  Marse  Dadles ! '  He  began  to  cry  and  sobbed  out,,  '  0 
Sissy,  he  was  a  good  Yankee ! '  They  rob  the  corn-cribs, 
so  it  is  well  they  carry  off  the  negroes  too.  Ours,  how- 
ever, will  not  go;  they  have  made  no  preparation  to  de- 
part, and  mother  interviews  them  daily  on  the  subject, 
but  leaves  them  to  decide  whether  they  will  '  silently 
steal  away/  which  is  their  method  of  disappearing. 
Mr.  Barbre's  negroes  have  all  gone  except  two,  and  Mr. 


52  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

Chalfant's  and  Mrs.  French's  are  preparing  to  go,  so 
our  neighbors  are  generally  upset." 

In  a  letter  of  an  earlier  date  Laura  Ellen  gives  an 
account  of  Mr.  Chalfant  coming  to  me  and  asking  ad- 
vice as  to  how  the  slaves  could  be  prevented  from  fol- 
lowing the  army.  I  had  wanted  to  know  of  my  neighbor 
if  his  negroes  would  take  his  word  on  the  subject.  If 
so,  he  might  state  to  them  that  they  might  be  free  just 
where  they  were — that  it  was  not  necessary  they  should 
leave  their  homes,  their  little  children,  their  household 
effects,  tools  and  other  "  belongings  "  which  could  not 
be  carried  on  the  march  (to  say  nothing  of  the  hogs- 
head of  sugar  nearly  all  of  them  had  in  their  cabins), 
their  poultry,  dogs,  cows  and  horses.  If  it  were  can- 
didly explained  to  them  that  their  freedom  was  to  be  a 
certainty,  and  that  they  might  be  hired  to  work  by  their 
old  owners,  doubtless  many  would  be  convinced  of  the 
wisdom  of  remaining  at  home  and  taking  their  chances 
■ — all  would  depend  on  the  confidence  the  negro  had  in 
the  master — but  they  should,  in  all  cases,  be  left  to 
make  their  own  decision — whether  to  go  or  stay.  Some 
of  the  people  who  could  read  should  be  shown  the  news- 
papers, left  by  the  Yankees,  wherein  it  is  urged  upon 
the  government  to  put  the  black  men  into  the  army. 
This  should  be  read  to  them  by  one  of  their  own  color. 

After  hearing  these  views  Mr.  Chalfant  was  reported 
having  said:  "Mrs.  Merrick  has  more  sense  about 
managing  the  negroes  than  any  man  on  the  river." 

However  that  may  have  been,  our  slaves  remained 
on  the  place,  and  many  of  them  and  their  descendants 
are  yet  in  the  employ  of  the  family.    It  was  considered 


War  Memories.  53 

%•  some  persons  to  be  treason  to  the  Confederacy  to 
speak  of  the  freedom  of  the  slaves  in  their  presence,  as 
if  refusal  to  acknowledge  the  emancipation  act  would 
avert  its  going  into  effect. 

This  attitude  towards  their  liberty  destroyed  all  con- 
fidence in  the  master's  advice,  and  so  his  negroes  left 
him.  It  was  several  years  before  the  emancipation  of 
the  slave  was  universally  effected,  there  being  secluded 
places  into  which  the  news  of  freedom  percolated  slowly, 
and  where  slavery  existed  for  some  time  uninterrupted. 
In  following  the  army  parents  often  abandoned  young 
children.  These  were  given  to  anybody  who  would 
burden  themselves  with  their  care.  In  many  cases  the 
natural  guardian  never  again  appeared,  and  these  'aban- 
doned ones  were  practically  bond-servants  until  they 
learned  how  to  be  free  of  themselves. 

Careworn  and  anxious  as  we  were  waiting  news  of 
our  loved  ones  in  the  field  and  of  the  cause  in  which  we 
had  risked  our  all,  we  were  too  busy  to  be  sad.  Tele- 
graphic communication  with  the  center  of  war  was  often 
cut  off  for  many  days.  During  these  agonizing,  silent 
seasons  the  women  drew  nearer  together,  and  kept 
busy  scraping  lint  for  the  hospitals  and  converting 
every  woolen  dress  and  every  yard  of  carpet  left  in  the 
house  into  shirts  and  bedding  for  our  boys  at  the  front. 
We  varied  the  labor  of  managing  plantations  with  every 
species  of  bazaar,  supper,  candy-pulling  and  tableaux 
that  would  raise  a  dollar  for  the  army.  Then  we  got 
all  the  entertainment  we  could  out  of  our  daily  domestic 
round,  as  I  did  out  of  Becky  Coleman,  one  of  my  old 
servants  who  occasionally  relieved  the  monotony  of  her 


54  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

"daily  round"  by  coming  "to  'nquire  'bout  de  white 
folks."  It  was  October  when  she  made  one  of  these 
visits,  but  summer  reigned  in  earth  and  sky.  A  noble 
avenue  of  black  walnuts  completely  shaded  one  side  of 
my  Myrtle  Grove  house.  The  large  green  nuts  were 
beginning  to  ripen,  for  when  a  branch  swayed  in  the 
wind  one  would  drop  from  time  to  time  with  such  a 
resounding  thump  upon  the  ground  that  it  was  a  mat- 
ter for  satisfaction  when  Becky  seated  herself  on  the 
steps  of  the  porch  without  having  encountered  a  thwack 
on  her  head  from  the  missile-dealing  trees. 

"  I  hear  singing  over  in  the  woods,"  said  I  to  Becky. 
"Why  are  you  not  at  the  meeting  this  evening?"' 

"  Who  ?  me  ?  eh — eh — but  may  be  yo  don'  kno'  I 
dun  got  my  satisfacshun  down  dar  a  while  ago.  I'm 
better  off  at  home.  Hester  done  got  me  convinced. 
Lemme  tell  you  how  'twas.  One  Sunday  ebenin'  I 
heard  tell  dar  wurs  gwine  to  be  er  sort  er  'sperienee 
praar-meeting  down  to  ole  Unk  Spencer's  house,  en  es 
'twan't  fer,  I  jes'  tuk  my  foot  in  my  han' !  I  did,  en  I 
went  dar. 

"  Well,  ev'rything  was  gwine  on  reg'lar,  en  peace- 
able, widout  no  kin'  er  animosity,  plum  till  dey  riz  up 
to  sing  de  very  las'  liime.  De  preacher  who  wus  er 
leadin'  got  up  den  en  tuk  up  de  Jiime  book  en  gin  out : 

' '  '  Ermazin'  grace  how  sweet  de  soun' 
In  de  beleever's  year  ! ' 

"  Now,  yo  knows  yo'sef  dey  ain't  nothin'  tall  incitin' 
'bout  dat  ar'  chime  :  you  knows  it;  en  as  fer  me,  I  was 
jes'  dar  er  stanin'  up  wid  de  res',  wid  my  mouf  open, 


War  Memories.  55 

jes'  er  singin'  fer  dear  life,  never  dreamin'  'bout  nothin' 
happ'nin',  when  heah  cum  Hester  Whitfiel' — coming 
catter-corner  'cross  from  de  yuther  side  er  de  house, 
wid  her  han'  h'isted  up  in  de  aar,  en  I  'clar  fo'  de  Lawd, 
she  hit  me  er  clip  rite  in  my  lef  eye,  en  mos'  busted  it 
clean  outen  my  haid.  It  cum  so  onexpectedlike  dat 
leetle  mo'en  I  would  er  drap  in  de  flo'.  I  jes'  felt  like 
I  wus  shot !  Den  she  had  er  pa'cel  er  big  brass  rings 
on  her  han',  en  dey  cut  rite  inter  my  meat ! 

"  I  tell  yo',  ma'am,  I  was  hurted,  I  jes'  seed  stars, 
I  did !  so  I  up  en  tole  her :  '  'Oman,  ef  yo  got  enny- 
thing  'g'inst  me,  why  don't  you  come  out  in  de  big  road 
en  gimme  er  fair  fight?  Fer  G-awd-elmighty's  sake 
don'  go  en  make  'ten'  like  yo  happy,  en  bus'  my  eye 
open  dis  heah  way.'  Says  I,  "Ligion  ain't  got  nuthin' 
ter  do  wid  no  sich  'havoir;  I  don'  see  no  Holy  Sperit 
'bout  it/  says  I.  '  'Twas  jes'  de  nachul  ole  saturn  what 
mak'  yo'  do  dat,  en  I  jes  knows  it,'  says  I.  "Ligion 
don'  make  nobody  hurt  nothin','  says  I.  Yo  reads  de 
Book,  Miss  Calline,  en  yo  knows  I'm  speakin'  de  sal- 
vashun  truf e,  now  ain't  I  ? 

"Den  all  de  folks  cum  crowdin'  'roun'  en  gethered 
a  holt  uv  us,  en  ef  dey  hadn't,  I  lay  I  woulder  stretched 
her  out  dar  in  de  flo',  fer  I'm  de  bes'  'oman — er  long 
ways — en  I  would  er  had  lier  convinced  in  no  time. 
But  dey  all  tu'ned  in  en  baig  me  ter  look  over  it,  be- 
in'  es  how  it  happen  in  meetin'-time ;  but  I  tell  yo, 
ma-am,  I  never  look  nowhars  wid  dat  eye  fer  mor'n 
free  weeks.  Why,  it  wus  so  swole  up  en  sore,  I  jes' 
had  ter  bandage  it  wid  sassyfras  .peth  and  wid  slippery 
ellum  poultices  day  en  night,  en  my  eye  wus  dat  red,  en 


56  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

bloodshottened,  dat  I  never  'speeted  to  see  daylight  outen 
it  no  mo' ;  en  I  clar'  f o'  de  Lawd  it  ain't  got  rite  na'chul 
till  yit ! 

"  No  longer'n  dis  very  ebenin  my  ole  man,  Tom, 
says  ter  me :  '  I  dun  seed  nuff  trouble  wid  yo,  Beck. 
You  needs  dembig  pop  eyes  er  yone  to  patch  my  close, 
en  wuk  wid,  en  I  ain't  er  gwine  to  hev  no  bline  'ornan 
rown'  me,'  says  he;  'en  I  let  yo  know  fruni  dis  out  yo 
don't  go  ter  no  mo'  praar-meetin's,  'zaminashuns  er 
what-cher-callums ;  dat's  de  long  en  short  uv  it ! '  says 
he.  '  Ef  you  ain'  got  sense  nun5  ter  stay  away  f rum 
dar,'  says  he,  '  I'll  insense  yo  wid  my  fis'.'  I  knows  de 
weight  er  dat  han'  er  hisen,  en  I'm  gwine  min'  him  dis 
time,  ennyhow ; "  and  Becky  pointed  toward  the  cabin 
from  whence  the  sound  of  singing  was  wafted  on  the 
breeze,  saying,  "  Yes'um,  I'm  gwine  stay  away  f  rum 
dar,  fer  er  f ac' !"' 

"  Becky,  is  such  an  incident  common  at  your  prayer- 
meetings  ?  "  I  inquired. 

"  Why,  no,  ma'am,  nuthin'  like  dat  never  happen  to 
me  befo';  yit,  I  'members  mighty  well  when  Betsy 
Washin'ton  cum  thoo' — 'fo'  she  jined  de  chu'ch.  'Twas 
in  de  meetin'-house,  but  yo  couldn't  onerstan'  one 
single  wud  de  preacher  wus  er  sayin',  fer  she  wus  jes' 
er  shoutin'  es  loud  es  she  could  fer  who  las'  de  longes' 
— en  I  onertuk,  fool  like,  to  hole  her;  fer  she  wus  in 
sich  a  swivit,  we  wus  feared  she'd  brek  loose  en  go  inter 
a  reg'lar  hard  fit,  so  I  jes'  grabbed  good  holt  er  de 
'oman,  'roun'  de  wais',  es  she  wus  er  hollerin',  en  er 
jumpin';  en  when  she  felt  de  grip  I  fotch  on  her,  she 
tu'n  'roun',  she  did,  en  gethered  my  sleeve  in  'tween  her 


War  Memories.  57 

fingers  (en  she  is  jes'  es  strong  es  enny  mule),  en 
shore's  yore  settin'  dar  in  dat  air  big  cheer,,  en  I'm 
er  stannin'  heah,  talkin'  ter  yer,  she  gin  me  one  single 
jerk,  en  I  'clar  ter  Gawd,  she  tore  my  whole  sleeve  outen 
de  arm-hole,  en  ripped  er  big  slit  clean  "cross  my  coat 
body !  Why  I  jes'  thought  de  'oman  wus  gwine  ter 
strip  me  start  naiked,  rite  dar  in  de  meetin'-house !  I 
got  dat  shame  I  jes'  let  er  go,  I  did,  en  den  went  per- 
usin'  roun'  'mongst  de  wimmin  en  borryd  er  shawl  ter 
kiver  me  up ;  en  den  I  moved  on  todes  home. 

"  But  I  mus'  let  yo  know  de  nex'  time  I  met  up  wid 
Betsy,  I  washed  her  face  good  wid  what  she  dun.  I  jes' 
tole  her  de  nex'  time  she  got  ter  shoutin'  'roun'  me 
she  mout  bre'k  her  neck — I  wan't  gwine  hole  her,  I 
wan't  gwine  tech  her ;  '  f er,'  says  I,  '  yo  done  gone 
en  'stroyed  de  bes'  Sunday  dress  I  got,  yo  is  dat,'  says 
I,  <  f  er  er  f ac' ! ' 

"  Den  Betsy  'lowed  she  didn't  keer,  en  dat  she  didn't 
know  what  she  wus  er  doin',  but  I  tuk  mighty  good 
notice  she  never  made  no  motion  to  grab  onter  Aunt 
Sally  Brown's  co'se  homespun  gown  when  she  tuk  er 
tu'n  er  hol'in  uv  her.  But  uv  co'se,  I  heap  ruther  hev 
my  close  tore  dan  to  hev  my  eye  busted  out.  But  dey 
ain't  no  need  er  airy  one  bein'  done;  en  I  tole  her  so, 
I  did  dat.  '  Sholey  Christians/  say  I,  '  kin  'joy  der- 
sef  widout  hurtin'  nobody,  neither  tarin'  der  close ! ' 
I  up  en  axed  her  ef  she  eber  knowed  de  white  folks  in 
de  big  house  karyin'  on  datterway,  en  ef  she  eber  seed 
Miss  Marthy  er  Miss  Eeeny  er  cuttin'  up  like  dat  in  de 
white  folks'  meetin'-house?    Well,  she  jes'  bust  out  er> 


58  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

laffiin'  in  my  face  at  dat,  en  she  'lowed  niggahs  wan't 
like  white  folks  nohow. 

" '  I  knows  better'n  dat,'  says  I.  '  Fer  Gawd  made 
us  all  outen  de  dus'  er  de  groun',  bofe  de  white  en  de 
black;'  en,  Miss  Calline,  yo'  ma  uster  tell  me  ef  I 
'haved  mysef,  en  kep'  mysef  clean,  en  never  tole  no 
lies,  ner  'sturb  yuther  folks'  things,  I  wus  good  es  enny- 
body,  en  I  b'lieves  it  till  yit;  dat's  de  salvashun  trufe, 
I'm  tellin',  white  'oman,  it  sholey  is! 

"  But  den  Betsy  got  mad,  she  did,  en  gin  me  er  push, 
— we  wus  walkin'  'long  de  top  er  de  levee — en  I  wus  so 
aggervated  dat  I  cum  back  at  'er  wid  er  knock  dat  made 
her  roll  down  smack  inter  de  gully.  Den  she  hollered  so 
de  men  fishin'  unner  de  river  bank  cum  er  runnin'. 
She  had  don'  sprain  her  wris',  en  ef  her  arm  had  been 
broke  she  cudn't  er  made  no  mo'  fuss.  Lemme  tell 
yo  de  trufe !  de  very  nex'  Sunday  dey  tu'ned  us  bofe 
outen  de  chu'ch  case  we  fit,  en  I  cayn't  go  to  praar- 
meetin'  tell  I  done  jine  ergin." 

"  Well,  Becky,  you've  made  me  forget  there  is  a  war 
and  Yankee  raids,  and  I  reckon  I'll  have  to  give  you  a 
cup  of  store-coffee  for  doing  it." 

"  Thanky,  Miss  Calline  !  I'll  be  powerful  'bliged  ter 
yo';  en  I  mus'  be  er  movin',  en  pa'ch  dis  heah  coffee 
fer  my  ole  mammy's  supper,  fer  she's  gittin'  monshus 
tired  of  tea  off  dem  tater  chips  what  we  has  ter  drink 
dese  days." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

WAR  MEMORIES :  THE  STORY  OF  PATSY'S  GARDEN". 

Our  vision  of  the  outside  world  of  human  affairs 
was  very  narrow  and  circumscribed  in  those  war-times, 
and  my  seminary  of  five  young  girls  was  often  a  victim 
to  ennui.  No  weekly  mail,  no  books,  no  music,  no  new 
gowns  from  one  year's  end  to  another. 

The  only  vital  question  was :  z'  What  is  the  war 
news  ?  "  There  were  also  no  coffee,  no  loaf-sugar,  no 
lemons  in  the  house.  However,  with  plenty  of  milk, 
eggs  and  butter,  fresh  fruit  and  vegetables,  to  say  noth- 
ing of  fowls  galore,  we  survived.  The  girls  made  cake 
and  candy,  so  with  the  abundance  of  open-kettle  brown 
sugar,  we  diversified  our  daily  menu  with  many  sweet 
compounds. 

The  one  unfailing  source  of  pleasure  was  the  garden. 
True,  the  army  at  Morganza  would  send  out  a  raid 
every  fortnight,  when  fences  were  broken  down  and  des- 
troyed: then  the  cows  and  other  cattle  would  get  in 
and  partake  of  our  lettuce  and  cabbages.  But  we  never 
gave  up ;  the  negroes  would  drive  the  marauding  cattle 
out  and  rebuild  the  fences  every  time  they  were  des- 
troyed. On  one  of  these  occasions  I  heard  Miss  Emma 
Chalf ant  say  to  Uncle  Primus :    "  I  shall  tell  on  you 

when  your  people  come  back  here;  I  heard  you  curse 

59 


60  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

and  swear  at  Mrs.  Merrick's  cows  this  morning — and 
you  call  yourself  a  preacher,  too !  "  "  Dese  cows  and 
dese  Yankees  is  'nuff  to  make  ennyhody  cuss,  Miss 
Emma/'  said  the  negro,  as  he  went  along  snapping  his 
long  whip  as  he  drove  the  poor  animals  away  from  the 
garden. 

Here  I  am  tempted  to  give  the  true  story  of  Martha 
Benton.  This  girl  became  positively  exhilarated  under 
the  influence  of  perfume  and  flowers.  The  delectable 
odor  of  Sweet  Olive — a  mingled  essence  of  peach, 
pineapple,  and  orange-flower — produced  in  her  a  frenzy 
of  delight.  She  had  been  introduced  to  the  exotic 
floral  world  by  the  proprietor  of  a  fine  garden  where 
she  frequently  visited. 

Her  father  could  not  understand  his  daughter's  de- 
light in  the  contemplation  of  Nature's  beauty;  for,  as 
far  as  these  things  were  concerned,  he  was  afflicted  with 
a  total  blindness  worse  than  a  loss  of  actual  sight.  Mr. 
Benton  was  fond  of  fruit  but  he  never  noticed  or  ad- 
mired the  flowers  from  which  the  fruit  was  formed. 
Nevertheless,  he  seemed  pleased  that  his  neighbor,  Mr. 
Thornton,  should  be  interested  in  his  daughter,  and 
take  pleasure  in  talking  with  her  about  his  rare  plants. 

"  Miss  Patsy,"  said  Mr.  Thornton,  "  it  requires  tact 
and  perseverance  to  grow  a  perfect  lily." 

"  I  could  do  it  if  I  had  the  bulbs,"  said  the  girl. 

At  the  close  of  the  interview,  a  dozen  bulbs  and  an 
extensive  package  of  plants  were  put  in  the  carriage 
for  the  young  lady  to  take  home,  as  a  compliment  to 
her  interest  in  his  favorite  pursuit. 

Mr.  Benton's  front  door-yard  was  given  over  to  his 


War  Memories.  61 

horses,  and  sometimes  the  calves  were  allowed  to  share 
in  the  rich  pasturage  it  furnished.  Several  ancient 
cedar  trees,  ragged  and  untrimmed,  and  two  thrifty 
oaks  stood  on  what  should  have  been  a  lawn,  and  a 
straggling  .  row  of  pomegranates  grew  along  the  line 
of  fence  on  one  side,  apparently  in  defiance  of  cattle 
and  all  other  exterminating  influences. 

On  her  return  home,  Patsy  displayed  her  treasures 
to  her  mother,  and  was  enthusiastic  over  her  floral 
prospects. 

"  Papa,"  said  she,  "  you  must  give  me  space  in  the 
vegetable  garden  for  the  present,  and  Tom  must  pre- 
pare the  ground/' 

"  It  is  perfect  foolishness,"  said  Mr.  Benton.  "  Old 
Thornton  is  such  a«  stuck-up  old  goose  that  I  hated  to 
make  him  mad,  otherwise  I  should  not  have  brought 
these  things  home  with  me.  The  truth  is  I  would  not 
swap  a  row  of  cotton-plants  in  my  field  for  everything 
that  old  man  has  got  in  all  his  grounds  and  greenhouses 
put  together. 

"  0  father,  everything  he  has  is  so  beautiful ! "  said 
Patsy.  "  The  summer-houses  are  like  fairy-land,  all 
covered  over  with  roses  and  vines." 

"You  keep  cool,  Pat,  and  don't  set  your  head  on 
having  a  flower-garden.  Your  mother  was  just  like 
you  when  I  married  her.  The  first  thing  she  did  was 
to  set  out  some  rose  bushes  in  the  front  yard.  Soon 
after  she  took  sick  and  they  all  died,  and  she  herself 
came  mighty  near  doing  the  same  thing;  so  she  gave 
up  the  whole  business,  like  a  sensible  woman.  Tom  is 
hoeing  potatoes  just  now,  and  you  must  not  call  him 


62  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

from  his  work  to  plant  this  truck,  which  is  of  no  ac- 
count anyway.  You'd  better  fling  it  all  in  the  river. 
It  would  be  far  better  than  to  go  out  on  the  damp 
ground  wasting  your  time  and  labor." 

"  No,  indeed/'  said  Patsy,  who  had  the  dauntless 
energy  of  a  true  gardener ;  "  I  shall  plant  them  my- 
self— every  one !  " 

She  did  so,  and  her  treasures  made  themselves  at 
home  in  the  rich,  mellow  soil,  and  throve  wonderfully 
in  response  to  her  careful  tending.  In  a  short  time 
she  gathered  roses  and  violets,  and  her  golden-banded 
lilies  shot  up  several  tall  stems  crowned  with  slender, 
shapely  buds,  which  were  watched  with  great  solici- 
tude. Every  morning  Patsy  would  say :  "  They  will 
bloom  to-morrow." 

Mr.  Benton  refused  to  "  consider  the  lilies "  of  his 
daughter  except  in  the  light  of  a  nuisance.  Only  the 
evening  before,  he  had  seen  her  standing  in  the  bean- 
arbor  with  Walter  Jones,  who  seemed  lost  in  his  ad- 
miration of  the  girl  while  she  devoured  the  beauty  of 
the  flowers;  and  Mr.  Benton  was  not  happy  at  the 
sight. 

"  It  just  beats  the  devil,"  he  said  to  himself,  "  how 
there  is  always  a  serpent  getting  into  a  man's  garden  to 
beguile  a  foolish  girl.  It  ain't  no  suitable  place  any- 
how for  girls  to  be  dodging  around  in  with  their  beaux. 
My  mind's  made  up,"  said  he,  striking  his  closed  right 
hand  into  the  open  palm  of  the  left.  "I'll  wipe  out 
that  flower-bed." 

Early  the  next  morning,  before  the  family  had  risen, 
Mr.  Benton  marched  into  the  garden  armed  with  a  hoe. 


War  Memories.  63 

He  went  to  the  lily-bed  and  began  the  work  of  destruc- 
tion. Aunt  Cindy,  the  cook,  was  surprised  as  she  took 
a  view  from  the  kitchen  window. 

"  I  'clar  to  gracious,  de  boss  is  a-workin'  Miss  Patsy's 
garden ! "  said  she  to  the  housemaid. 

"  He's  workin'  nuthin'.  He's  jes'  a-cuttin'  an'  chop- 
pin'  up  everything,"  said  the  more  observant  girl. 

"  Ef  dat  ole  vilyun  is  spilen'  dat  chile's  gyardin ," 
said  the  cook,  "  when  she  fines  it  out,  little  Patsy'll  tar 
up  de  whole  plantation.  You  listen  out  when  she  gits 
up  en  comes  down-stairs.  He  ain't  done  no  payin'  job 
dis  time,  I  let  you  know  he  ain't  dat.  Great  Gawd," 
said  she,  "  Patsy'll  be  mad ! — eh — eh  !  " 

Jeff  Davis,  Patsy's  little  brother,  who  was  out  at  the 
front  gate,  spied  Walter  Jones  riding  past,  and  called 
out  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  "  Come  in,  old  fellow,  and 
take  breakfast.  Sissy's  asleep  yet,  but  we  have  killed 
a  chicken,  and  churned,  and  opened  a  keg  of  nails, 
and  there  are  three  fine  cantaloupes  in  the  ice-box." 

Walter  could  not  resist  this  invitation.  He  dis- 
mounted and  joined  Mr.  Benton  on  the  porch,  where 
that  gentleman  was  sipping  a  cup  of  black  morning 
coffee  after  his  labor  in  the  garden. 

The  dense  fog  was  clearing  away,  and  the  sun  began 
to  show  in  the  eastern  horizon.  Patsy  came  down,  and 
was  working  up  the  golden  butter,  printing  it  with  her 
prettiest  molds.  She  knew  Walter  was  there.  'She 
set  on  the  breakfast  table  a  vase  filled  with  water,  and 
ran  out  into  the  garden  to  get  the  lilies  for  a  center- 
piece of  beauty  and  color — for  they  had  actually  opened 
at  last. 


64  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

In  a  moment  everybody  was  electrified  by  a  terrific 
scream.  The  whole  family  rushed  out  to  see  what  was 
the  matter.  Patsy  was  wringing  her  hands  and  crying. 
She  pointed  to  the  ruined  flower-beds,  sobbing :  "  Some 
wretch  has  cut  up  and  destroyed  all  my  beautiful 
flowers ! " 

"  Well/'  said  Jeff  Davis,  "  it  won't  do  any  good  to 
bellow  over  it  like  that,  Sis.  Breakfast  is  ready^  I  tell 
you.      Come  to  breakfast," 

But  Patsy  continued  weeping  and  bewailing  her  loss, 
regardless  of  entreaties.  She  called  down  some  an- 
athemas on  the  perpetrator  of  the  outrage,  which  were 
not  pleasant  to  Mr.  Benton's  ears. 

"  Dry  up  this  minute  !  "  said  he.  "  I  cut  out  those 
confounded  things,  and  don't  let  me  hear  any  more 
about  it.  Dry  up,"  said  he,  sternly,  "and  eat  your 
breakfast." 

Neither  Patsy  nor  her  mother  ate  anything,  however. 
They  looked  through  their  tears  at  each  other,  and  were 
silent,  while  rebellious  indignation  filled  their  hearts. 
Mr.  Benton  was  angry. 

"  It  is  beyond  all  reason,"  said  he,  "  for  you  to  act 
so  because  I  did  as  I  pleased  with  my  own.  Anyhow,  I 
would  not  give  one  boy,"  looking  at  Jeff,  "  for  a  whole 
cow-pen  full  of  girls  like  you,"  glancing  at  Patsy. 

Walter  was  an  indignant  spectator  of  this  scene,  and 
he  wished  he  could  take  his  sweetheart  and  fly  awajr 
with  her  forever.  He  took  a  hasty  leave,  and  Mr. 
Benton  went  earlier  than  usual  on  his  daily  round  of 
plantation  business. 


War  Memories.  65 

Her  mother  soothed  Patsy's  feelings  as  well  as  she 
could  and  counseled  patience. 

"  I  hate  him,  if  he  is  my  father,"  said  the  girl. 

The  mother  reminded  her  of  the  filial  respect  due  the 
author  of  her  being. 

"  I  wish  I  had  no  father,"  she  answered  perversely. 

Mr.  Benton  rode  back  of  the  fields  to  the  woods  where 
the  "  hands  "  were  cutting  timber  to  complete  a  fence 
around  the  peach  orchard.  Tom  had  started  in  the 
spring  wagon  to  go  three  miles  down  the  river  for  some 
young  trees.  Jeff  sat  on  the  seat  beside  Tom.  When 
Mr.  Benton  returned  to  go  with  them  to  select  the  trees 
at  the  nursery,  the  horses  were  apparently  restive  and 
rather  unmanageable. 

"  Get  down,  Jeff,"  said  Mr.  Benton,  "  and  ride  my 
horse,  while  I  show  Tom  how  to  drive  these  horses." 

A  moment  after^  Jeff  and  his  father  had  exchanged 
places,  and  before  Mr.  Benton  had  fully  grasped  the 
reins,  the  ponies  took  fright  and  ran  out  of  the  road. 
Coming  suddenly  to  a  tree  which  had  fallen,  they 
bounded  over  it,  and  the  vehicle  was  upset,  and  Tom  and 
Mr.  Benton  were  violently  thrown  out.  Tom  escaped 
with  a  few  bruises,  but  Mr.  Benton  was  seriously  in- 
jured, his  arm  being  dislocated  and  his  leg  broken.  Jeff 
went  off  for  the  doctor,  and  Mr.  Benton  was  carried 
home  insensible. 

When  Patsy  saw  the  men  bringing  him  into  the 

house'  in  this  condition,  she  thought  he  had  been  killed, 

and  was  filled  with  heart-breaking  grief  and  remorse. 

*'  Poor  father !  "  she  cried,  "  this  is  my  punishment  for 

5 


66  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

wishing  I  had  no  father  this  morning.     0  Lord,  for- 


give me 


Mr.  Benton,  however,  was  not  dead.  After  his  in- 
jured limbs  were  set  to  rights  by  the  surgeon,  he  was 
soon  in  a  fair  way  to  recovery.  In  the  meanwhile, 
Patsy  and  her  mother  devoted  themselves  wholly  to 
ministering  to  his  wants  and  ameliorating  the  tedium 
of  his  confinement  to  the  house. 

"  Pat,"  said  he  one  day,  "  you  have  been  a  great 
trouble  and  expense  to  me,  but  when  a  man  is  suffering 
with  a  lame  arm  and  a  broken  leg,  women  are  certainly 
useful  to  have  in  the  house.  You  and  your  mother 
have  waited  on  me  and  taken  good  care  of  me  for  many 
weeks."  He  glanced  at  his  spliced  leg  and  his  swollen 
arm,  and  continued :  "  I  could  not  do  much  cutting  up 
things  in  the  garden  at  this  time,  Pat,  could  I  ?  I  wish 
I  had  let  your  flower-beds  alone.  Great  Caesar!  didn't 
you  make  a  fuss  over  those  lilies,  and  your  mother,  too ! 
You  both  actually  cried  over  that  morning's  work." 

"  Never  mind,  father,"  asid  Patsy,  reassuringly, 
"  we  don't  care  now,"  and  she  smiled  sweetly  and  lov- 
ingly upon  the  hard-featured  invalid. 

He  was  almost  well  when  he  said  to  her :  "  You  are 
a  good  child,  and  let  me  tell  you,  my  doctor  has  fallen 
in  love  with  you.  He  told  me  so.  Yes,  Pat,  he  is 
mashed  on  you,  and  intends  to  ask  you  to  marry  him, 
and  you  had  better  give  up  any  foolish  notion  you  may 
have  taken  to  Walter  Jones,  and  take  the  doctor.  He  is 
the  best  chance  you  will  ever  have.  He  is  doing  well  in 
his  profession,  and  besides  having  a  good  home  to  take 
you  to,  he  belongs  to  an  influential  family.      All  I  ask 


War  Memories.  67 

of  you  is  to  promise  me  you  won't  refuse  the  doctor. 
You  would  be  a  fool  to  reject  such  a  man." 

"  0  father ! "  said  the  girl,  "  don't  ask  me  to  prom- 
ise anything." 

"  I  am  going  to  be  obeyed  in  my  own  house/'  said 
Mr.  Benton,  flying  into  a  rage,  "  and  if  you  don't  mind 
me,  I  will  put  you  out  of  doors." 

Patsy  was  struck  with  consternation. 

The  invalid  was  now  able  to  move  around  without 
assistance.  Patsy's  heart  was  full  of  fear  and  trem- 
bling. 

The  next  morning  she  did  not  come  down  to  print  the 
butter  or  bring  her  father  his  early  morning  coffee.  The 
girl  had  eloped  with  Walter  Jones. 

"  This  is  worse  than  breaking  my  leg,"  said  Mr.  Ben- 
ton, after  his  first  indignation  had  subsided. 

When  he  could  speak  calmly  about  his  trouble  to  his 
wife,  he  wondered  what  made  Patsy  so  thoughtless  and1 
undutiful,  when  she  was  an  only  daughter  and  had! 
everything  she  wanted. 

"  She  is  very  much  like  her  father,"  said  Mrs.  Ben- 
ton, "  and  she  thought  marriage  would  set  her  free — 
emancipate  her." 

"That's  pure  folly,"  said  Mr.  Benton,  "for  all 
females  are  and  ought  to  be  always  controlled  by  their 
male  relations.  Nothing  on  God's  earth  can  emanci- 
pate a  woman.  She  only  changes  masters  when  she 
marries  and  leaves  her  father's  house." 

"  Patsy,  then,  has  changed  masters,"  said  his  wife, 
"  and  she  seems  to  be  very  happy — in  her  own  little 
home." 


68  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

"  Old  woman,  don't  get  saucy,  and  I  will  tell  you 
something/'  said  he.  "  I  have  sent  to  the  city  for  some 
flower-garden  truck,  and  Maitre  has  sent  me  up  fifty 
dollars'  worth  of  what  he  calls  first-class  stuff  on  the 
last  boat,  and  I  am  going  over  to  give  it  to  Pat  to  plant. 
Tom  shall  do  the  work  for  her,  too.  To  tell  you  the 
real  downright  truth,,  you  all  made  me  feel  cheap  about 
chopping  up  her  things,  and  I  am  going  to  replace 
them." 

"  Oh,  I  am  so  glad !  "  said  Mrs.  Benton. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  Benton,  "  I  am  perfectly  willing  to 
restore  forty  times  as  much  as  I  destroyed.  Pat's  a 
trump,  anyhow,  and  I  shall  never  go  back  on  her  for 
anything  she  has  ever  done.  You  can  rely  on  that  for 
a  fact." 

Mr.  Benton  was  a  good  neighbor  of  ours  and  assumed 
some  authority  over  my  household.  He  never  failed  to 
come  over  immediately  whenever  we  had  a  visit  from 
one  of  the  gunboats,  and  to  reprove  me  sharply  for 
having  any  friendly  interviews  or  even  civilities  with 
our  "  kidney-footed  enemies,"  as  he  called  them,  yet  at 
the  same  time  he  would  seize  upon  all  the  newspapers 
which  these  gentlemanly  officers  had  given  us,  and  carry 
them  off  for  his  own  delectation,  regardless  of  all  ob- 
jections and  expostulations. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

HOW  WOMAN  CAME  TO  THE  RESCUE. 

Mary  Wall's  letter  from  Clinton,  Louisiana,  De- 
cember 27th,  1863,  contains  some  strong  expressions 
showing  the  feeling  and  suffering  among  women  at  that 
period :  "  You  must  keep  in  good  heart,  my  dearest 
friend,  about  your  son  David.  I  heard  he  was  killed, 
but  I  have  just  seen  Mr.  Holmes,  who  has  read  in  a 
Yankee  paper :  '  Capt.  Merrick,  of  Gen.  Stafford's 
staff,  slightly  wounded.'  When  I  heard  your  boy  was 
killed  I  felt  the  blow,  and  groaned  under  it,  for  I  know 
just  how  the  iron  hoof  of  Death  tears  when  it  settles 
down  among  the  heart-strings.  When  my  mother  died 
last  year  I  did  not  weep  so  bitterly,  for  my  only  dis- 
interested friend  was  taken  from  the  evil  to  come ;  but 
when  my  gifted,  first-born  soldier-boy,  Willie — my 
pride  and  joy — was  laid  in  a  lonely  grave,  after  a  mor- 
tal gunshot  wound,  on  the  Atchafalaya,  at  Bute  la 
Rose.,  that  was  my  hardest  trial.  I  could  not  get  to 
him;  yet  he  was  decently  buried;  but  of  my  brother, 
shot  in  the  fight  in  Tennessee,  we  only  know  that  he 
was  killed  on  the  battlefield  at  Franklin.  My  son 
Wesley  was  reported  missing  after  the  fight  at  Chicka- 

mauga;  he  may  be  a  prisoner.     I  have  heard  nothing 

69 


70  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

more,  and  my  heart  stands  still  when  I  think  he  too 
may  have  been  killed,  and  his  body  thrown  in  some 
ravine  or  creek,  as  the  Texans  are  said  sometimes  to  do 
when  they  '  lose '  their  Yankee  prisoners  on  the  march. 
God  knows,  this  is  a  wicked  war !  And  there  is  Bow- 
man, my  third  son;  he  may  be  dead,  too,  for  I  do  not 
hear  a  word  from  him.  I  try  to  steady  my  aching 
heart,  and  go  my  way,  and  do  my  work  with  a  quiet 
face;  but  often  when  I  am  alone  I  sink  down,  and  the 
waves  go  over  me.  I  can  pour  out  my  heart  to  you.  I 
do  hope  your  boy  is  but  '  slightly  wounded,'  so  that  he 
may  be  sent  home  to  stay  with  you  for  a  long  time. 
May  God  in  mercy  spare  his  life;  but  do  not  set  your 
heart  on  him." 

General  Leroy  Stafford,  on  his  last  visit  to  his  family, 
stopped  at  Myrtle  Grove  and  gave  me  the  particulars  of 
the  engagement  at  Payne's  Farm,  Virginia,  where 
David  was  shot,  the  ball  entering  his  head  above  the 
ear  and  going  out  on  the  other  side  below  the  ear.  He 
fell  from  his  horse,  it  was  supposed,  mortally  wounded. 
By  careful  medical  attention  he  survived  with  the  loss 
of  the  sight  of  one  eye  and  power  of  hearing,  the  drum 
of  one  ear  being  perforated.  He  suffered  temporarily 
much  disfigurement  from  paralysis  of  the  facial  nerve. 

When  I  saw  my  handsome  boy  in  this  condition  my 
distress  will  not  tax  the  imagination.  "  0  mother," 
he  said,  "  you  ought  not  to  feel  in  this  way !  So  many 
mothers'  boys  can  never  come  back  to  them,  and  I  am 
alive  and  getting  better  every  day.  If  you  have  felt 
cramped  in  expression,  or  anybody  has  ever  done  any- 
thing to  you  which  rubbed  you  up  the  wrong  way,  throw 


How  Woman  Came  to  the  Rescue.     71 

down  your  gauntlet  and  I'll  fight  your  battles  for  you. 
Don't  shed  tears  over  me  !  " 

Judge  Avery  said,  referring  to  David's  own  letter 
from  the  hospital :  "  It  is  the  letter  of  a  hero — not  one 
word  of  complaint  in  the  whole  of  it."  The  surgeon 
attributed  my  son's  extraordinary  recovery  to  the  purity 
of  blood  uncorrupted  by  the  use  of  tea,  coffee,  tobacco 
or  alcoholic  drinks. 

My  brother  Milton  was  surrendered  with  Port  Hud- 
son. July  25,  1863,  he  wrote  as  follows  from  Custom 
House  Prison,  No.  6,  in  New  Orleans :  "  About  2,000 
of  us  are  confined  here.  Many  have  called  to  see  me 
but  only  one  has  succeeded — a  young  lady  who  an- 
nounced herself  as  my  cousin;  said  she  was  determined 
to  have  some  relative  here.  I  never  saw  her  before. 
The  ladies  are  very  kind  and  contribute  to  all  our 
wants.  Hundreds  of  them  promenade  daily  before  our 
windows;  they  look  very  sweet  and  lovely  to  us.  Their 
hearts  are  all  right,  but  when  they  motion  to  us  with 
their  fans,  or  wave  their  handkerchiefs,  the  guards  take 
them  away.  The  whole  city  is  overrun  with  Yankee 
soldiers,  and  the  citizens  have  a  subdued  look.  We 
have  no  reason  to  complain  of  our  treatment,  and  we  are 
not  wholly  discouraged.  General  Lee's  successes  are 
favorable  to  our  cause,  and  I  now  feel  hopeful  of  a 
speedy  termination  of  our  troubles,  though  I  see  no 
prospect  of  our  release. 

"  I  learn  that  the  Yankees  took  everything  from 
Mr.  Palmer's  near  Clinton — negroes,  mules,  horses, 
made  the  old  man  dig  up  his  buried  silver,  and  so 
alarmed  the  old  lady  that  she  died  of  fright.    I  wish  to 


72  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

get  back  into  the  field — feel  more  and  more  the  neces- 
sity to  establish  our  independence,  for  we  can  never 
again  live  at  peace  with  our  hated  enemy." 

Notwithstanding  these  things,  and  that  this  brother 
was  confined  for  two  years  at  Johnson's  Island  until 
after  the  surrender,  he  has  been  for  years  a  loyal  Ke- 
publican,  and  is  now  an  office-holder  under  Mr.  Mc- 
Kinley . 

The  jayhawkers  were  a  terror  in  the  neighborhood 
of  our  Pleasant  Hill  plantation,  where  Mr.  Merrick 
spent  much  of  the  war  period.  These  guerilla  ruffians 
gave  many  peaceable  families  much  anxiety  even  when 
dwelling  hundreds  of  miles  from  the  seat  of  war. 
They  were  sometimes  deserters  and  always  outlaws, 
but  wore  the  uniform  of  either  army  as  fitted  their 
purpose,  and  had  no  scruples  about  doing  the  most  law- 
less and  violent  deed.  At  one  time  it  was  unsafe  to 
let  it  be  known  when  the  head  of  the  family  would  go  or 
return,  or  to  allow  any  plans  to  leak  out,  lest  a  descent 
should  be  made  on  the  unprotected  home  or  the  equally 
unprotected  absentee.  A  careful  servant,  closing  the 
window-blinds  at  night,  would  caution  Mr.  Merrick  to 
keep  out  of  the  range  of  wandering  shots  which  were 
often  fired  by  these  desperadoes  at  unoffending  per- 
sons. It  has  been  asserted  that  the  guerillas  were  a 
part  of  the  regular  Confederate  service,  whereas  they 
were  outlawed  by  the  army  and  subject  to  summary 
discipline  if  caught. 

When  the  Confederates  were  about  us  we  enjoyed  im- 
munity from  terrors.  For  ten  months  General  Walk- 
er's Division  of  our  army  camped  on  my  land.     It  is 


How  Woman  Came  to  the  Rescue.     73 

true  we  divided  our  stores  with  them,  but  the  sense  of 
protection  was  an  unspeakable  comfort.  I  had  rooms 
near  my  house  furnished  as  a  hospital,  where  I  nursed 
friend  or  foe  who  came  to  me  sick.  Medicines  were 
treasured  more  than  gold;  a  whole  neighborhood  felt- 
safer  if  it  were  known  there  was  a  bottle  of  quinine 
in  it;  drugs  were  kept  buried  like  silver. 

There  was  much  delightful  association  with  the  of- 
ficers and  our  other  friends  in  the  army.  Every  family 
had  stored  away  for  times  of  illness  or  extra  occasions 
little  remnants  of  our  former  luxuries — wine,  tea, 
coffee.  General  Dick  Taylor  was  once  my  guest. 
While  sipping  his  champagne  at  dinner  he  exclaimed: 
"  I'm  astonished,  madam,  that  in  these  times  you  can 
be  living  in  such  luxury !  "  I  explained  that  it  was 
the  birthday  of  my  daughter  Laura  for  which  we  had 
long  prepared,  and  that  to  honor  it  I  had  drawn  on 
my  last  bottle  of  wine  saved  for  sickness.  I  made  him 
laugh  by  relating  that  every  time  there  was  a  raid  I 
got  out  a  bottle  of  wine,  and  we  all  drank  in  solemn 
state  to  keep  it  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  the 
Yankees. 

General  Eichard  Taylor  was  the  only  son  of  Presi- 
dent Zachary  Taylor.  He  married  a  Louisiana  lady 
and  made  his  home  in  this  State.  He  won  conspicuous 
success  as  a  brigade  commander  under  Stonewall 
Jackson,  and  being  placed  in  command  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Mississippi  and  Alabama,  his  brilliant  record 
culminated  in  the  victories  of  Mansfield  and  Pleasant 
Hill.  Having  beaten  General  Banks  one  day  at  the 
former  place,  he  pursued  him  to  Pleasant  Hill — where 


74  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

my  husband  was  during  the  whole  period  of  active  war- 
fare— and  defeated  him  again.  He  was  the  idol  of  the 
Trans-Mississippi  Department — and  well  he  might  be, 
for  he  alone  had  redeemed  it  from  utter  hopelessness.* 

General  Polignac  was  the  brave  Frenchman  who  set 
his  men  wild  with  amusement  and  enthusiasm,  by  plac- 
ing his  hand  on  his  heart  and  exclaiming  with  em- 
pressement :  "  Soldiers,  behold  your  Polignac !  "  They 
beheld  him  and  followed  him  ardently.  While  par- 
taking of  very  early  green  peas  and  roast  lamb  at  my 
table,  he  asked :  "  Did  you  raise  these  peas  under  glass, 
madam  ? "  "  Look  at  my  broken  windows,"  I  an- 
swered, e<  all  over  this  house,  and  tell  whether  I  can 
raise  peas  under  glass  when  we  can't  keep  ourselves 
under  it !  "  With  such  as  we  had  everybody  kept  open 
house  while  the  war  lasted.  Nobody,  high  or  low,,  was 
turned  from  the  door;  so  long  as  there  was  anything 
to  divide,  the  division  went  on:  all  of  which  has  con- 
firmed me  in  the  belief  that  in  proportion  as  artificial 
social  conditions  are  removed  the  divinity  in  man 
shines  out;  and  that  Bellamy's  vision  for  humanity 
need  not  be  all  a  dream. 

The  news  of  Lee's  surrender  fell  with  stunning  force, 
although  it  had  long  been  feared  that  the  Confederates 
were  nearing  the  end  of  their  resources.  Peace  was 
welcomed  by  the  class  of  men  who  had  begun  to  desert 
the  army,  because  their  little  children  were  starving 
at  home;  it  was  also  good  news  to  the  broad-minded 
student  of  history  who  knew  that  surrender  was  the 

*  Southern  Historical  Society  Papers. 


How  Woman  Came  to  the  Rescue.     75 

only  alternative  for  an  army  overpowered;  that  the 
victories  of  peace  embodied  the  only  hope.  But  there 
were  many  who  said :  "  Why  not  have  fought  on  until 
all  were  dead — man,  woman  and  child?  What  is  left 
to  make  life  worth  the  living  ?  " 

An  impression  prevailed  among  the  victors  of  the 
civil  war,  that  the  Southern  people  were  lying  awake 
at  night  to  curse  the  enemy  that  had  wrought  their 
desolation  and  impoverishment.  Nothing  could  have 
been  further  from  the  truth.  After  the  first  stupefy- 
ing effects  of  the  surrender,  the  altered  social  and  do- 
mestic conditions  engrossed  every  energy.  Every  home 
mourned  its  dead.  Those  were  counted  happy  who 
could  lay  tear-dewed  flowers  upon  the  graves  of  their 
soldier-slain — so  many  never  looked  again,  even  upon 
the  dead  face  of  him  who  had  smiled  back  at  them  as 
the  boys  marched  away  to  the  strains  of  Dixie.  The 
shadow  of  a  mutual  sorrow  drew  Southern  women  in 
sympathy  and  tenderness  toward  weeping  Northern 
mothers  and  wives.  True  men  who  have  bravely 
fought  out  their  differences  cherish  no  animosities — 
though  still  unconvinced. 

The  women  in  every  community  seemed  to  far  out- 
number the  men;  and  the  empty  sleeve  and  the  crutch 
made  men  who  had  unflinchingly  faced  death  in  battle 
impotent  to  face  their  future.  Sadder  still  was  it  to 
follow  to  the  grave  the  army  of  men,  of  fifty  years  and. 
over  when  the  war  began,  whose  hearts  broke  with  the 
loss  of  half  a  century's  accumulations  and  ambitions, 
and  with  the  failure  of  the  cause  for  which  they  had 
risked  everything.     Communities  were  accustomed  td 


76  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

lean  upon  these  tried  advisers;  it  was  almost  like  the 
slaughter  of  another  army — so  many  such  sank  beneath 
the  shocks  of  reconstruction. 

It  is  folly  to  talk  about  the  woman  who  stood  in  the 
breach  in  those  chaotic  days,  being  the  traditional 
Southern  woman  of  the  books,  who  sat  and  rocked  her- 
self with  a  slave  fanning  her  on  both  sides.  She  was 
doubtless  fanned  when  she  wished  to  be;  but  the  ante- 
bellum woman  of  culture  and  position  in  the  South 
was  a  woman  of  affairs;  and  in  the  care  of  a  large 
family — which  most  of  them  had — and  of  large  in- 
terests, she  was  trained  to  meet  responsibilities.  So  in 
those  days  of  awful  uncertainties,  when  men's  hearts 
failed  them,  it  was  the  woman  who  brought  her  greater 
adaptability  and  elasticity  to  control  circumstances, 
and  to  lay  the  foundations  of  a  new  order.  She  sewed, 
she  sold  flowers,  milk  and  vegetables,  and  she  taught 
school;  sometimes  even  a  negro  school.  She  made  pies 
and  corn-bread,  and  palmetto  hats  for  the  Federals  in 
garrison;  she  raised  pigs,  poultry  and  pigeons;  and  she 
cooked  them  when  the  darkey — who  was  "  never  to  wuk 
no  mo' " — left  her  any  to  bless  herself  with ;  she 
washed,  often  the  mustered-out  soldier  of  the  house  fill- 
ing her  tubs,  rubbing  beside  her  and  hanging  out  her 
clothes;  and  he  did  her  swearing  for  her  when  the 
Yankee  soldier  taunted  over  the  fence :  "  Wall,  it  doo 
doo  my  eyes  good  to  see  yer  have  to  put  yer  lily-white 
hands  in  the  wash-tub  !  " 

As  soon  as  the  war  was  over,  my  daughter  went  with 
her  grandmother  to  visit  her  fathers  relatives  in 
Massachusetts.     In  letters  to  her,  beginning  Septem- 


How  Woman  Came  to  the  Rescue.     JJ 

ber  16,  1865,  I  thus  described  the  conditions  under 
which  we  were  living :  "  The  war  was  prosperity  to  the 
state  of  things  which  peace  has  wrought.  Society  is 
resolving  itself  into  its  original  elements.  Chaos  has 
come  again.  St.  Domingo  is  a  paradise  to  this  part 
of  the  United  States,  which  is  cut  off  from  the  benefits 
of  government.  The  negroes  who  Jiave  gained  their  j 
liberty  are  more  unhappy  and  dissatisfied  than  ever! 
before.  Poor  creatures !  their  weak  brains  are  puz- 
zling over  the  great  problem  of  their  future.  Care 
seems  likely  to  eat  up  every  pleasure  in  their  bewildered  : 
lives.  They  no  longer  dance  and  sing  in  the  quarters 
at  night,  but  sit  about  in  dejected  groups;  their  chief 
dissipation  is  prayer-meeting.  It  is  a  dire  perplexity 
that  they  must  pay  their  doctor's  bills;  they  resent  it 
as  a  bitter  injustice  that  '  Marster '  does  not  '  find 
them'  in  medicine  and  all  the  ordinary  things  of  liv- 
ing as  of  old.  They  say  no  provision  is  made  for  them. 
They  are  left  to  work  for  white  folks  the  same  as  ever, 
but  for  white  folks  who  no  longer  care  for  them  nor 
are  interested  in  their  own  joys  and  sorrows.  Freedom 
meant  to  them  the  abolition  of  work,  liberty  to  rove  un- 
controlled, to  drink  liquor  and  to  carry  firearms.  As 
Eose  recently  said  to  me :  "I  don't  crave  fin'ry — jes 
plenty  er  good  close,  en  vittles,  en  I  'spects  ter  get  dese 
widout  scrubbin'  f  er  'em/  '  Where  is  de  gover'ment  ?  ' 
they  ask  anxiously,  'en  de  forty  acres  er  Ian',  en  de 
mule  ? ' — which  each  one  of  them  was  led  to  reckon  on. 
They  expected  a  saturnalia  of  freedom;  to  be  legis- 
lators, judges  and  governors  in  the  land,  to  live  in  the 
white   folks'   houses,  and   to   ride  in   their   carriages. 


78  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

They  cannot  understand  a  freedom  that  involves  labor 
and  care.  They  say  they  were  deceived;  that  white 
folks  still  have  the  upper  hand,  and  ride  while  they 
walk.     I  pity  them  deeply. 

"  You  know  I  have  never  locked  up  anything.  Now 
I  am  a  slave  to  my  keys.  I  am  robbed  daily.  Spoons, 
cups  and  all  the  utensils  from  the  kitchen  have  been 
carried  off.  I  am  now  paying  little  black  Jake  to  steal 
some  of  them  back  for  me.,  as  he  says  he  knows  where 
they  are.  I  cannot  even  set  the  bread  to  rise  without 
some  of  it  being  taken.  All  this,  notwithstanding  the 
servants  are  paid  wages.  It  is  astonishing  that  those 
we  have  considered  most  reliable  are  engaged  in  the 
universal  dishonesty.  I  understand  they  call  it  'sp'ilin ' 
de  'Gypshuns ! ' 

"  The  Mississipi  river  is  open ; — the  boats  ply  daily 
up  and  down,  but  we  have  no  mail.  We  are  surely 
treated  like  stepchildren  of  the  great  United  States. 
Already  the  tax-assessor  has  come  to  value  our  prop- 
erty; the  tax-gatherer  has  collected  the  national  reve- 
nues; agents  of  the  Freedman's  Bureau  are  taking  the 
census  of  negro  children  preparatory  to  forming 
schools,  and  Northern  land  buyers  are  looking  out  for 
bargains  in  broken-up  estates.  Is  it  strange  that  we 
ask :  '  Where  is  the  postmaster  ?  '  We  have  had  already 
too  much  exclusion  from  the  world  in  Confederate  days. 
Let  us  emerge  from  our  former  '  barbarous  state  of 
ignorance/ — and  let  me  hear  from  my  absent  child  in 
Massachusetts ! 

"  Your  father  has  written  from  New  Orleans  as  fol- 
lows :  '  I  have  extricated  my  Jefferson  City  property 


How  Woman  Came  to  the  Rescue.     79 

from  the  seizure  of  the  Federals,  and  have  paid  $800 
tc  release  it,  though  I  think  it  will  cost  several  hundred 
more.  They — the  Federals — burnt  the  mill  mortgaged 
to  me  by  G.  B.  M.— and  I  shall  lose  $5,000  on  that. 
I  think  I  have  done  remarkably  well  to  have  paid  off 
so  many  incumbrances,  but  I  wish  you  to  have  for  the 
present  a  rigid  management  of  all  matters  of  expense. 
I  am  glad  I  have  a  prospect  of  getting  my  law  library 
into  my  possession  again.  I  find  four  hundred  and 
fifty  volumes  of  it  in  the  quartermaster's  department. 

"  I  can  only  extricate  my  affairs  by  economy  on  the 
part  of  all  my  family,  and  am  only  asking  that  they 
show  a  little  patience  under  our  temporary  separation. 
I  do  not  wish  them  to  aid  me  by  earning  anything,  ex- 
cept it  be  David,  for  himself  individually ;  but  we  shall 
all  be  in  the  cit}*-  in  our  own  home  the  sooner  by  the 
exercise  of  present  self-denial. 

"  'I  am  glad  to  learn  that  the  people  of  the  South 
denounce  the  assassination  of  Lincoln,'  for  it  was  a 
ruinous  misfortune  to  us. 

"  At  present  we  are  living  at  as  little  expense  as 
possible  with  no  perceptible  income.  We  are  taxed 
according  to  the  ante-bellum  tax  lists — including  our 
slaves  and  property  swept  off  the  earth  by  the  armies. 
A  fine  sugar  estate,  near  us  on  the  river,  worth  two 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  was  sold  last  week  for  taxes, 
which  were  seven  thousand  five  hundred  dollars.  The 
whole  estate — land,  dwelling,  sugar  house,  stock — 
brought  only  four  thousand  dollars.  There  could 
scarcely  be  completer  confiscation  than  these  unright- 


80  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

eons  tax-sales  under  which  millions  of  dollars  "worth  of 
property  are  advertised  for  sale. 

"  I  saw  a  late  article  in  the  Chicago  Times  in  which 
the  writer  said :  '  You  had  better  be  a  poor  man's  dog 
than  a  Southerner  now.'  If  our  negroes  are  idle  and 
impudent  we  are  not  allowed  to  send  them  away.  If 
we  have  crops  waiting  in  the  fields  for  gathering,  the 
hands  are  all  given  by  the  semi-military  government 
' passes  to  go'  though  we  pay  wages;  and  (weakly  or 
humanely?)  buy  food,  furnish  doctors  and  wait  on  the 
sick,  very  much  in  the  old  way,  simply  because  nature 
refuses  to  snap  the  ties  of  a  lifetime  on  the  authority 
of  new  conditions.  I  have  it  in  mind  to  make  Myrtle 
Grove  a  very  disagreeable  place  to  some  of  the  most 
trifling,  so  that  they  will  get  into  the  humor  to  hunt 
a  new  home. 

"  General  Price  said :  '  We  played  for  the  negro,  and 
the  Yankees  fairly  won  the  stake,  with  Cuffy's  help/ 
Let  them  have  hin^  and  keep  him !  Your  father  has 
just  had  a  settlement  with  his  freedmen.  They  are 
extremely  dissatisfied  with  the  result.  Though  they 
acknowledge  every  item  on  their  accounts,  furnished 
at  New  Orleans  wholesale  prices,  it  is  a  disappointment 
not  to  have  a  large  sum  of  money  for  their  years  labor 
— that,  too,  after  an  extravagance  of  living  we  have  not 
dared  to  allow  ourselves,  and  an  idleness  for  which  we 
are  like  sufferers,  as  the  crop  was  planted  on  shares. 
I  am  convinced  the  negroes  are  too  much  like  children 
to  understand  or  be  content  with  the  share  system. 

"  I  have  a  good  cook,  but  she  has  a  cavaliere  servente, 
besides  her  own  husband  and  children,  to  provide  for 


How  Woman  Came  to  the  Rescue.     81 

out  of  my  storeroom,  which  she  does  in  my  presence 
very  often — though  it  is  not  in  the  bond.  I  am  im- 
patient when  she  takes  the  butter  given  her  for  pastry 
and  substitutes  lard;  yet  I  cannot  withhold  my  admira- 
tion when  I  see  her  double  the  recipe  in  order  that 
her  own  table  may  be  graced  with  a  soft- jumble  as 
good  as  mine.  Somebody  has  said :  '  By  means  of  fire, 
blood,  sword  and  sacrifice  you  have  been  separated  from 
your  black  idol.'  It  looks  to  me  as  if  he  is  hung 
around  our  necks  like  the  Ancient  Mariner's  albatross. 
You  ridicule  President  Johnson's  idea  of  loaning  us 
farming  implements.  You  must  not  forget  who 
burned  ours.  We  need  money,  for  we  have  to  pay  the 
four  years'  taxes  on  our  freed  negroes! 

"There  is  bad  blood  between  the  races.  Those  fa- 
miliar with  conditions  here  anticipate  that  the  future 
may  witness  a  servile  war — a  race  war — result  of  mili- 
tary drilling,  arming  and  haranguing  the  negro  for 
political  ends.  Secession  was  a  mistake  for  which  you 
and  I  were  not  responsible.  But  even  if  our  country 
was  wrong,  and  we  knew  it  at  the  time — which  we  did 
not — we  were  right  in  adhering  to  it.  The  best  people  in 
the  South  were  true  to  our  cause ;  only  the  worthless  and 
unprincipled,  with  rare  exceptions,  went  over  to  the 
enemy.  We  must  bear  our  trials  with  what  wisdom 
and  patience  we  may  be  able  to  summon  until  our 
status  is  fully  defined.  I  cannot  but  feel,  however, 
that  if  war  measures  had  ceased  with  the  war,  if  United 
States  officers  on  duty  here,  and  the  Government  at 
Washington,,  had  shown  a  friendly  desire  to  bury  past 

animosities  and  to  start  out  on  a  real  basis  of  reunion, 
6 


82  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

we  should  have  become  a  revolutionized,  reconstructed 
people  by  this  time.  But  certain  it  is  that  the  enemy — ■ 
authorities  and  '  scalawag  '-friends,  who  now  cruelly 
oppress  the  whites  and  elevate  the  negro  over  us — are 
hated  as  the  ravaging  armies  never  were,  and  a  true 
union  seems  farther  off  than  ever." 


CHAPTER  IX. 

miss  vine's  dinner  paety  and  its  abrupt  conclu- 
sion. 

War  is  demoralizing,  and  ever  since  "our  army 
swore  terribly  in  Flanders,,"  profanity  has  been  a  mili- 
tary sin.  In  my  neighborhood  it  extended  to  the 
women  and  children  who  had  never  before  violated  the 
third  commandment.  I  knew  a  little  girl  who,  having 
seen  a  regiment  of  Federal  soldiers  marching  along 
the  public  highway,  ran  to  her  mother  crying,  "The 
damned  Yankees  are  coming !  "  She  was  exempt  from 
reproof  on  account  of  the  exciting  nature  of  the  news. 
She  had  doubtless  heard  the  obnoxious  word  so  often 
in  this  connection  that  she  deemed  it  a  correct  term. 

I  tried  to  preserve  my  own  household  "pure  and 
peaceable  and  of  good  report,"  and  I  plead  with  my 
five  girls  to  avoid  all  looseness  of  expression.  But 
Fannie  Little  asked :  "  Mrs.  Merrick,  may  I  not  even 
tell  Eose  to  '  go  to  the  devil '  when  she  puts  my  night- 
gown where  I  can't  find  it,  and  makes  me  wait  so  long 
for  hot  water  ?  " 

"  No,  indeed,  my  child !  Only  Christian  ministers 
can  speak  with  propriety  of  the  devil,  and  use  his  name 
on  common  occasions." 

As  a  social  side-light  on  these    disordered  secession 

83 


84  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

war-times  the  following  sketch  is  a  true  picture.  The 
characters  and  incidents  are  real,  but  the  names  are 
assumed.  The  endeavor  to  embalm  the  events  in  words 
diverted  me  in  the  midst  of  graver  experience  during 
those  chaotic  days. 

Beechwood  plantation  has  a  frontage  of  two  miles  on 
the  banks  of  a  navigable  river.  The  tall  dwelling- 
house  was  so  surrounded  by  other  buildings,  all  well 
constructed  and  painted  white,  that  the  first  glance 
suggested  the  idea  of  a  village  embowered  in  trees. 
The  proprietorship  of  a  noble  estate  implies  a  certain 
distinction,  and  in  fact  the  owner  of  this  property  had 
for  many  years  represented  his  district  in  Congress. 
In  past  as  well  as  present  times  people  manifest  a  dis- 
position to  bestow  political  honors  upon  men  of  pros- 
perity and  affluence. 

Mr.  Templeton,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  he  pos- 
sessed an  uncommonly  large  amount  of  property  in 
land  and  slaves^  was  not  a  giant  either  in  body  or  in 
mind.  He  surely  had  spoken  once  in  the  national 
Capitol,  for  was  he  not  known  to  have  sent  a  printed 
copy  of  a  speech  to  every  one  of  the  Democratic  con- 
stituents in  the  State?  In  this  pamphlet  were  set 
forth  eloquent  and  powerful  arguments  against  the  un- 
just discrimination  of  the  specific  duties  on  silk,  which 
he  thought  operated  to  the  disadvantage  and  serious 
injustice  of  the  poor  man.  He  asserted  confidently 
that  the  poor  people  would  purchase  only  the  heavy, 
serviceable  silken  goods,  while  the  rich  preferred  the 
lighter  and  flimsier  fabrics,  thus  paying  proportion- 


Miss  Vine's  Dinner  Party.  85 

ately  a  much  smaller  revenue  to  the  Government.  Tins 
proved  conclusively  that  Mr.  Templeton  never  con- 
sulted his  wife,  whose  rich  dresses  were  always  paid  for 
as  the  tariff  was  arranged — ad  valorem.  His  patriotic 
soul  was  harrowed  and  filled  with  sympathy  and  sor- 
row on  account  of  the  injustice  and  hardship  thus  dealt 
out  to  his  needy  and  indigent  constituents.  We  cannot 
follow  this  interesting  man's  public  career,  and  prob- 
ably it  is  customary  for  great  statesmen  "to  study  the 
people's  welfare"  and  to  have  the  good  of  the  poor 
men  who  vote  for  them  very  much  upon  their  disin- 
terested minds. 

The  Templeton  family  came  originally  from  that 
State  which  furnished  to  the  South,  in  the  hour  of 
trial,  some  brave  soldiers  and  a  good  song — "  Maryland, 
my  Maryland."  Lavinia,  Mr.  Templeton's  only 
daughter,  had  been  educated  at  the  Convent  in  Em- 
metsburg,  and  had  returned  home  after  Fort  Sumter 
was  fired  upon  and  other  disturbances  were  anticipated. 
This  slender,  delicate,  little  creature  was  very  graceful 
and  pretty,  timid  as  a  fawn,  and  frisky  as  a  young  colt. 
At  first  she  could  not  be  induced  to  sit  at  table  if  there 
was  a  young  man  in  the  dining-room.  She  said  she 
preferred  to  wait,  and  when  she  came  in  afterward  for 
her  dinner  her  brother  Frank  testified  that  she  always 
ate  an  extra  quantity  to  make  up  for  the  delay. 

Old  Miss  Eliza  thought  Vine  so  lovely  and  good  that 
she  always  allowed  her  to  do  as  she  pleased,  only  en- 
joining on  her  to  "be  a  lady."  Miss  Eliza  was  an 
old-maid  cousin  who  lived  in  the  family,  shared  the 
cares  and  anxieties  of  the  parents,  and  was  greatly  re- 


86  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

epected  by  everybody.  She  was  not  a  particularly  re- 
ligious person — there  not  being  a  church  within  ten 
miles — but  she  was  kind,,  courteous  and  gentle,  and  ex- 
hibited a  great  deal  of  deportment  of  the  very  finest 
quality — as  might  have  been  expected  from  her  refined 
Virginia  antecedents.  She  could  not  abide  that  the 
servants  should  call  Lavinia  Templeton  "  Miss  Vine/' 
but  they  called  her  so  all  the  same. 

Beaux  far  and  near  contended  for  Lavinia's  regard, 
and  in  less  than  six  months  after  leaving  the  convent 
she  was  married  to  a  young  captain  newly  enlisted  in 
the  artillery  of  the  Confederate  service.  A  grand  wed- 
ding came  off  where  many  noteworthy  men  assembled. 
While  the  band  played  and  the  giddy  dance  went  on, 
groups  of  these  consulted  about  the  portentous  war 
clouds.  One  great  man  said :  "  There  will  be  no  war ; 
I  will  promise  to  drink  every  drop  of  blood  shed  in 
this  quarrel ! " 

But  soon  there  was  a  military  uprising  everywhere. 
As  men  enlisted  they  went  into  a  camp  situated  less 
than  an  hour's  drive  from  Beechwood.  Vine  and  her 
lover-husband  refused  to  be  separated,  so  she  virtually 
lived  in  the  encampment.  The  spotless  new  tents,  with 
bright  flags  flying,  the  young  men  thronging  around 
the  carriages  which  brought  their  mothers  and  sisters 
as  daily  visitors,  made  this  camp  in  the  woods  a  be- 
witching spot. 

Every  luxury  the  country  afforded  was  poured  out 
with  lavish  hands.  Friends,  neighbors  and  loved  ones 
at  home  skimmed  the  richest  cream  of  the  land  for  the 
delectation  and  refreshment  of  their  dear  soldier  boys. 


Miss  Vine's  Dinner  Party.  87 

A"  young  schoolboy,  who  dined  with  his  brother  in  camp 
on  barbecued  mutton  and  roast  wild  turkey  with  all  the 
accompaniments,  wrote  to  his  father  that  he  too  was 
ready  to  enlist,  having  now  had  a  perfect  insight  into 
soldier  life.  As  this  gallant  veteran  to-day  looks  at 
his  empty,  dangling  coat-sleeve  and  is  shown  his  boyish 
letter,  he  smiles  a  grim  smile  and  says :  "  Yes,  I  was 
a  fool  in  those  days."  Vine's  husband  had  a  noble 
figure  and  was  a  picture  of  manly  beauty  in  his  new 
uniform  with  scarlet  facings.  To  the  horror  of  her 
woman  friends  the  devoted  little  wife  cut  up  a  costly 
black  velvet  gown,  and  made  it  into  a  fatigue  jacket 
for  him  to  wear  in  camp. 

Meanwhile  the  unexpected  happened  and  we  were 
in  the  midst  of  a  real,  terrible  war.  Federal  military 
operations  extended  over  the  whole  country;  then  ap- 
peared a  gunboat  with  its  formidable  armament,  strik- 
ing a  panic  into  all  the  white  inhabitants.  Soldiers 
advanced  to  the  front,  while  citizens  precipitately  re- 
treated to  the  rear.  In  trepidation  and  hot  haste 
planters  gathered  up  their  possessions  for  departure. 
Slaves,  always  dearer  and  more  precious  to  the  average 
Southern  heart  than  either  silver  or  gold,  were  first 
collected  and  assembled  with  the  owners  and  their  fami- 
lies* and  then  formed  large  companies  of  refugees  who 
went  forth  to  look  for  a  temporary  home  in  some  less 
exposed  part  of  the  country. 

'After  much  deliberation  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Templeton, 
with  the  little  boys  and  their  cumbrous  retinue  of 
wagons,  horses  and  slaves,  went  to  Texas,  leaving  their 
daughter  Vine,  Miss  Eliza  and  two  faithful  servants  as 


88  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

sole  tenants  of  Beechwood.  The  expected  advance  of 
Federal  forces  in  the  spring  seemed  to  justify  the  re- 
duction of  the  place  to  such  slender  equipment.  Mean- 
while, Captain  Paul  had  been  through  a  campaign  in 
Virginia.  On  the  very  day  of  the  battle  of  Bethel, 
Vine  clasped  a  new-born  daughter  in  her  arms,  and  the 
father  requested  that  its  name  should  be  Bethel  in  com- 
memoration of  that  engagement.  This  child  was  a 
year  old  before  he  saw  its  face.  The  time  came  when 
Louisiana  soil  was  to  be  plowed  up  with  military 
trenches  and  fortifications,  and  Captain  Paul  was 
ordered  to  Port  Hudson.  The  siege  of  that  place  soon 
followed. 

In  the  evenings  Miss  Eliza  sat  on  the  gallery  holding 
Bethel  in  her  arms,  while  Vine  rocked  little  Dan,  the 
baby  of  seven  months,  and  they  would  all  listen  in 
wistful  silence  to  the  volleys  of  heavy  guns  sounding 
regularly  and  dolefully  far  down  the  river.  The  regu- 
lar boom  of  the  thundering  volleys  kept  on  day  and 
night.  The  two  servants,  Becky  and  Monroe,  would 
occasionally  join  the  group;  "Never  mind,  Miss  Vine, 
don't  you  fret,"  they  would  say ;  "  sure ,  Captain 
Paul's  all  right."  After  many  weeks  of  painful  sus- 
pense and  anxiety  the  shocking  news  came  that  Captain 
Paul  had  been  killed  by  the  explosion  of  a  shell. 
Vine's  grief  was  wild.  She  wept  and  raved  by  turn, 
until  Miss  Eliza  feared  she  would  die.  Becky  with 
womanly  instinct  brought  her  the  children  and  re- 
minded her  that  she  still  had  these.  "  Take  them 
away,"  cried  Vine,  "  I  loved  them  only  for  his  sake ; 
children  are  nothing!     Take  them  out  of  my  sight! 


Miss  Vine's  Dinner  Party.  89 

Oh !  Lord/'  she  cried,  "  let  us  all  die  and  be  buried  to- 
gether! Why  does  anybody  live  when  Paul  is  dead? 
— dead,  dead,  forever !  " 

Vine  put  on  no  mourning  in  her  widowhood,  for  such 
a  thing  as  crepe  was  unattainable  in  those  days.  The 
girls  in  the  neighborhood  came  and  stayed  with  her 
by  turns,  and  did  all  they  could  to  divert  her  mind 
from  her  loss. 

In  a  short  time  even  punctilious  Miss  Eliza  rejoiced 
to  perceive  some  return  of  Vine's  former  cheerfulness. 
She  said  it  was  sad  enough  and  bad  enough  to  have  a 
horrible  war  raging  and  ravaging  over  the  country, 
without  insisting  that  a  delicate  young  thing  like  La- 
vinia  should  go  on  forever  moping  herself  to  death  in 
unavailing  grief.  There  was  no  need  of  anything  of 
the  kind.  While  wishing  her  niece  to  avoid  "getting 
herself  talked  about,"  Miss  Eliza  yet  thought  it  need- 
ful, right  and  proper  that  she  should  take  some  diver- 
sion and  some  healthy  amusement.  So  it  came  to  pass 
after  awhile  that  one  day  all  the  officers  and  soldiers 
who  were  temporarily  at  home,  and  all  the  young  ladies 
living  on  the  river,  were  invited  to  dine  together  at 
Beechwood. 

The  day  was  cool  and  delightful,  with  just  a  tinge 
of  winter  in  the  air.  Extensive  fields,  where  hundreds 
of  bales  of  cotton  and  thousands  of  barrels  of  corn, 
had  been  grown  annually,  were  now  given  up  to  weeds, 
briars  and  snakes.  Here  and  there  in  protected  nooks 
and  corners  clusters  of  tall  golden-rod  or  blue  and 
purple  wild  asters  waved  their  heads.  Only  one  small 
patch  of  ripened  corn  near  the  dwelling  indicated  that 


90  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

the  inhabitants  had  not  entirely  forgotten  seed-time 
and  might  possibly  have  hope  of  even  a  tiny  harvest 
later  on. 

It  was  eleven  o'clock  before  Vine  had  finished  the 
work  of  decorating  her  parlors.  She  felt  weary  from 
the  unusual  exertion,  but  remembering  her  duties  to 
her  expected  guests,  she  ran  to  the  window  overlooking 
the  kitchen  and  called,  "  Becky,  Becky,  you  know  who 
are  to  be  here;  now  do  have  everything  all  right  for 
dinner;  and,  Becky,' please  keep  the  children  quiet,  for 
I  should  like  to  take  a  nap  before  I  dress." 

"  Y'as'm,"  said  the  woman,  while  a  shade  of  care  came 
into  her  honest  face,  as  she  regarded  the  two  children 
playing  in  the  corner  of  the  kitchen.  "  I  'clar  to  Gawd, 
dat's  jes'  like  Miss  Vine,  she's  done  got  in  de  bed  dis 
minit  and  lef  me  wid  bofe  dese  chillun  on  my  han's, 
en  she  knows,  mitey  well,  dat  um  got  a  heap  to  tend 
ter,  dis  day.  She  tole  me  dat  she  wus  gwine  to  he'p 
me,  she  did,  en  it's  de  Gawd's  trufe  dat  she  ain't  done 
er  spec  of  er  blessed  thing  ceppin  gether  dem  bushes  and 
flowers,  en  Captain  Prince  he  hope  her  at  dat.  Now,  eii 
she  had  put  her  han'  to  de  vegables,  dat  would  er  ben 
sumpin.  Flowers  will  do  for  purty  and  niceness,  but 
you  cayent  eat  'em,  en  you  cayent  drink  'em.  Dey're 
des  here  to-day  and  gone  all  to  pieces  to-morrow;  whut 
good  is  dey  anyhow?  a  whole  kyart  load  of  um  don't 
mount  ter  er  hill  er  beans.  Well,"  she  continued,  "  I 
jes'  won't  blame  de  young  creetur,  but  Gawd  ermitey 
only  knows  when  all  dem  white  folks  will  set  down  ter 
dat  ar  dinner  Miss  Vine  done  'vited  'em  ter  come  here 
en  eat !    Here,  Beth,"  said  she  kindly  to  the  little  girl, 


Miss  Vine's  Dinner  Party.  91 

"  clam  up  on  dis  stool,  honey,  by  dis  table ;  um  gwine 
ter  fix  yo  a  nice  roas'  tater  in  a  minit.  Yo,  Dan/'  she 
called  out  sharply  to  the  boy,  "yo  jes'  stop  mashin' 
dat  cat's  tail  wid  dat  cheer  'fo'  he  scratch  yo  to  deff! 
Min',  I  tell  yer !  It  jes'  looks  like  Miss  Vine  wouldn't 
keer  ef  I  bust  my  brains  er  wukin' ;  but  I  ain't  er  gwine 
to  do  dat  fer  nobody.  Well,  not  fer  strange  white  folks, 
anyhow." 

Here  Beth  with  a  mouthful  of  sweet  potato  asked  for 
water.  Becky  promptly  dipped  a  "gourd  full  and  held 
it  to  her  lips  grumbling  all  the  while,  "  Lamb  0'  Gawd, 
how  in  de  name  er  goodness  is  I  gwine  ter  wait  on  dese 
chillun,  wash  up  dese  dishes,  put  on  dinner,  en  fetch 
all  de  wood  from  de  wood  pile  ?  "  As  she  stood  con- 
templating her  manifold  duties,  she  heard  the  clock 
in  the  house  striking  the  hour.  "Lord,  Gawd,"  said 
she,  "  ef  it  ain't  twelve  o'clock  er  'ready,  en  shore  nufr* 
here  comes  all  dem  white  folks  jes'  a  gallopin'  up  de 
big  road.  Eh — eh — eh — well,  dey'll  wait  twell  em 
ready  fur  'em,  dat's  all.  But  I  does  wish  Miss  Vine 
was  mo'  like  her  mar.  Ole  Mis'  wouldn't  never 
dremped  'bout  'viten  a  whole  pasel  er  folks  here,  widout 
havin'  pigs,  and  po'try,  pies  and  cakes,  en  sich,  all 
ready,  de  day  befo'.  She  had  plenty  on  all  sides  an' 
plenty  ter  do  de  work  too.  Now  here's  Miss  Vine 
she's  after  havin'  her  own  fun.  Well,  she's  right,  you 
hear  me,  niggahs !  " 

"You  ain't  talkin'  to  me,  Aunt  Becky,"  said  Beth; 
"  I  ain't  no  nigger."  The  woman  laughed,  dropped 
her  dishcloth  on  the  unswept  floor,  grasped  the  child 
and  tossed  her  up  several  times  over  her  head.     "  Gawd 


92  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

bless  dis  smart  chile !  no,  dat  yo  ain't !  yo  is  a  sweet, 
little,  white  angel  o-uten  heaben,  you  is  dat,  you  purty 
little  white  pig !  " 

In  the  height  of  this  performance  Monroe  came  to 
the  door  and  thrust  in  an  enormous  turkey  just  killed. 
Seeing  what  was  going  on  he  exclaimed :  "  Why,  Aunt 
Becky,  yo  better  stop  playing  wid  dat  white  chile  en 
pick  dis  turkey  'fo'  Miss  Eliza  happen  "long  here  en 
ketch  yer." 

"  Shet  yo  mouf ,  en  git  out  o'  dis  kitchen,  boy ;  you 
cayent  skeer  me ;  I  can  give  you  as  good  es  you  can  sen' 
any  day.  De  white  folks  knows  I  ain't  got  but  two 
han's  and  can't  do  a  hundred  things  in  a  minit."  She 
put  the  child  down,  however,  and  resumed  her  dish 
washing. 

The  girls  in  the  meantime  had  retouched  their  dis- 
heveled curls  and  joined  the  young  men  in  the  parlor, 
where  for  a  time  music,  songs  and  dances  made  the 
hours  fly.     Let  us  play  "  Straw,"   said  Nelly  Jones. 

"  JSTo,  let  Captain  Prince  lead  and  choose  the  game," 
said  Arabella. 

So  the  captain  seated  the  company  in  line.  "  Now," 
said  he/,  "  not  one  of  you  must  crack  a  smile  on  pain 
of  forfeit,  and  when  I  say  prepare  to  pucker,  you  must 
all  do  so," — drawing  out  as  he  spoke  the  extraordinary 
aperture  in  his  own  good-natured  face,  extending  his 
lips  into  an  automatic,  gigantic,  wooden  smirk  reach- 
ing almost  from  ear  to  ear.  Everybody  giggled  of 
course,  but  he  went  on :  "  I  shall  call  out  '  Pucker/ 
and  you  must  instantly  face  about  with  your  mouths 
fixed  this  way" — and  he  drew  up  his  wonderful  feature 


Miss  Vine's  Dinner  Party.  93 

small  enough  to  dine  with  the  stork  out  of  a  jar. 
The  company  shouted,  but  the  game  was  never  played, 
for  reproof  and  entreaty,  joined  to  the  captain's  word 
of  command,  failed  to  get  them  beyond  a  preparatory 
attempt  which  ended  always  in  screams  of  laughter. 

The  sun  was  getting  low  in  the  west  when  another 
want  began  to  appeal  to  the  inner  consciousness  of  these 
young  persons.  Some  of  them  had  ridden  for  miles 
in  the  morning  air;  since  then  they  had  sung  and 
danced  and  laughed  in  unlimited  fashion.  Now  they 
began  to  think  of  some  other  refreshment.  Arabella 
ventured  to  request  that  Captain  Prince  be  sent  to  the 
kitchen  to  reconnoiter  and  bring  in  a  report  from  the 
commissary  department.  The  captain  responded 
amiably,  and  said  she  was  a  sensible  young  lady. 
"  Vine,  ain't  you  hungry  ?  "  asked  Arabella.  "  Oh,  I 
took  some  luncheon  before  you  came,"  replied  she ;  "  if 
you  will  go  up-stairs  and  look  in  the  basket  under  my 
dressing  table,  you  will  find  some  sandwiches,  but  not 
enough  for  all."     The  girl  flew  up-stairs. 

When  Captain  Prince  returned  the  girls  rushed  for- 
ward and  overpowered  him  with  questions.  He  threw 
up  his  hands  deprecatingly  and  waved  off  his  noisy 
assailants.  "  Stop,  stop,  young  ladies,  I  will  make 
my  report.  I  went  round  to  the  kitchen  and  found 
Aunt  Becky  behind  the  chimney  ripping  off  the 
feathers  of  a  turkey  so  big  "  (holding  his  hands  nearly 
a  yard  apart).  "I  got  a  coal  0'  fire  to  light  my  pipe, 
then  I  made  a  memorandum."  Here  he  pulled  out 
an  old  empty  pocketbook  and  pretended  to  read — "  Item 


94  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

1st,  '  Fowl  picking  at  three  o'clock/  that  means  dinner 
at  six.     Can  you  wait  that  long?" 

"  Never  !  "  cried  the  girls. 

*  Well,  we  must  then  go  into  an  election  for  a  new 
housekeeper  who  will  go  in  person  or  send  a  strong 
committee  who  will  whoop  up  the  cook  and  expedite  the 
meal  which  is  to  refresh  these  fair  ladies  and  brave 
men," — and  he  began  to  count  them. 

"  Don't  number  me  in  your  impolite  crowd,"  said 
Arabella,  "  for  I  am  content  to  wait  until  dinner  is 
ready."  Vine  gave  her  a  meaning  smile  and  went  up 
pleadingly  to  the  captain,  rolling  her  fine  eyes  in  the 
innocent,  sweet  way  characteristic  of  some  of  the  most 
fascinating  of  her  sex,  and  begging  him  to  continue 
tc  be  the  life  and  soul  of  her  party,  as  he  always  was 
everywhere  he  went :  she  said  if  he  would  "  start  some- 
thing diverting,"  she  would  go  and  stir  Becky  up  and 
have  dinner  right  off — she  would,  "  honest  Indian." 

These  girls  were  not  sufficiently  polite  to  keep  up  a 
pleased  appearance  when  bored.  Such  little  artificiali- 
ties of  society  belonged  to  the  days  of  peace.  They 
flatly  refused  to  dance,  saying  they  were  tired.  One 
avowed  that  she  was  sorry  she  had  persuaded  her 
mother  to  let  her  come  to  such  a  poky  affair,  and  an- 
other declared  that  she  had  never  been  anywhere  in  her 
whole  lifetime  before  where  there  was  not  cake,  fruit, 
candy,  popcorn,  pindars,  or  something  handed  round 
when  dinner  was  as  late  as  this.  "  Oh,"  said  Nelly 
Jones,  "  I  wish  I  had  a  good  stalk  of  sugar-cane."  In 
fact  a  cloud  seemed  to  settle  down  in  the  parlors  like 
smoke  in  murky  weather. 


Miss  Vine's  Dinner  Party.  95 

Captain  Prince  stroked  his  blond  goatee  affection- 
ately and  looked  serious,  but  brightening  up  in  a  mo- 
ment he  crossed  the  wide  hall  and  entered  the  library 
where  Major  Bee  was  writing.  He  captured  the  major, 
brought  him  and  introduced  him  to  the  ladies,  and 
then  seated  him  in  a  capacious  arm-chair,  while  he  held 
a  whispering  conference  with  Nelly  Jones.  Nelly's 
wardrobe  was  the  envy  and  admiration  of  all  the  girls 
on  the  river.  Being  the  daughter  of  a  cotton  speculator, 
she  wore  that  rare  article,  a  new  dress.  Unlike  Ara- 
bella, whose  jacket  was  cut  from  the  best  part  of  an  old 
piano  cover,  she  was  arrayed  in  fine  purple  cashmere 
trimmed  with  velvet  and  gold  buttons,  and  was  other- 
wise ornamented  with  a  heavy  gold  chain  and  a  little 
watch  set  with  diamonds.  Nelly  took  the  captain's  arm 
and  made  a  low  bow  to  Major  Bee,  and  the  girls  were 
once  more  on  the  qui  vive  when  they  heard  the  captain 
say  in  slow  and  measured  tones,  "  I  have  come  with  the 
free  and  full  consent  of  this  young  lady  to  ask  you  to 
join  us  for  life  in  the  bonds  of  matrimony."  The  ami- 
able old  major  seemed  ready  to  take  part  in  this  danger- 
ous pastime,  for  gentle  dulness  ever  loves  a  joke. 
"  Bring  me  a  prayer  book,"  said  he,  "  if  you  please." 

"  I  lent  my  mother's  prayer  book,"  said  Vine,  "  to 
old  Mrs.  Simpson  two  years  ago,  and  she  never  re- 
turned it — the  mean  old  thing !  " 

The  major  next  asked  for  a  broom  which  he  held 
down  before  the  couple  saying,  "  Jump  over." 

"Hold  it  lower,"  said  Nelly,  and  they  stepped  over 
in  a  business-like  manner. 

u  Now,"  said  Major  Bee,  "  I  solemnly  pronounce  you 


96  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

husband  and  wife,  and  I  hope  and  trust  that  you  will 
dwell  together  lovingly  and  peacefully  until  you  die. 
I  have  at  your  request  tied  this  matrimonial  knot  as 
tight  as  I  possibly  could,  under  the  circumstances,  and 
I  hope  you  will  neither  of  you  ever  cause  me  to  regret 
that  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  taking  part  in  this 
highly  dignified  and  honorable  ceremony." 

Then  the  old  major  kissed  the  bride,  whom  he  had 
always  petted  from  childhood,  and  shook  hands  with 
Captain  Prince,  whom  Nelly  refused  the  privilege  ac- 
corded the  major,  for  said  she,  "there  was  no  kissing 
in  the  bargain."  The  company  crowded  around  with 
noisy  congratulations;  a  sofa  was  drawn  forward,  and 
the  mock  bridal  couple  sat  in  state  and  entertained 
their  guests. 

"  My  dear,"  remarked  the  bride,  "  I  expected  to 
make  a  tour  when  I  was  married." 

"  Yes,  miss," — he  corrected  himself  quickly, — "  yes, 
madam,  I  think  as  there  are  no  steamboats  that  we 
may  take  a  little  journey  up  the  river  on  a  raft." 

"  What  kind  of  a  raft,  Captain  ?  "  asked  Nelly. 

Ci  My  love,  I  mean  a  steam  raft.  I  will  take  the 
steam  along  in  a  jug." 

Nelly  made  a  terrible  grimace  of  disgust  and  was 
silent  for  a  moment,  her  mind  still  dwelling  on  the 
bridal  tour.  "  Captain,  you  know  we  must  have  money 
for  traveling  expenses,"  said  she. 

"Yes,  darling,  it  takes  that  very  thing,  so  I  will 
spout  your  fine  watch  and  chain,  and  then  we  can  find 
ourselves  on  wheels." 

Nelly  drew  down  the  corners  of  her  pretty  mouth, 


Miss  Vine's  Dinner  Party.  97 

pouted  her  lips  and  looked  more  disgusted  than  ever. 
To  them  it  was  all  very  funny. 

"  My  dearest,  I  fear  when  your  mother  hears  the 
news  she  will  say  '  Poor  Nelly,  she  has  thrown  herself 
away ! ' "  and  the  captain  actually  blushed  at  this  vis- 
ion of  Mrs.  Jones's  disapprobation. 

"  Keep  the  ball  rolling,  Captain,"  said  Billy  Morris, 
"  this  sport  is  splendid." 

The  captain  fixed  his  keen  eye  on  Billy's  large,  stand- 
ing collar  and  asked,  "  Did  you  ever  see  a  small  dog 
trotting  along  in  high  oats?  Well," — surveying  his 
person — "  I  have." 

"  Come  now,  Captain,"  replied  Billy,  "  I'll  allow  you 
some  privileges,  being  just  married,  but  you  must  pass 
your  wit  around.  I've  had  enough.  Don't  compare 
your  single  unmarried  friend  to  a  dog." 

Dinner  was  then  announced  and  the  party  were  soon 
seated  at  table.  That  king  of  edible  birds,  the  turkey 
savory  and  brown,  was  placed  at  one  end,  and  a  fresh 
stuffed  ham  stood  at  the  other,  while  the  vegetables 
filled  up  the  intervening  space.  A  large  bunch  of 
zinnias  and  amaranthus  set  in  a  broken  pitcher  formed 
a  gay  center-piece.  The  dessert  was  egg-nogg,  and 
Confederate  pound-cake  made  from  bolted  cornmeal. 
The  dinner  was  concluded  with  a  cup  of  genuine  coffee. 
Notwithstanding  the  late  meal,  never  had  there  been 
a  merrier  day  at  old  Beechwood.  Healths  to  the  absent 
ones  were  drunk  from  the  single  silver  goblet  of  egg- 
nogg  allowed  for  each  guest.  The  girls  did  not  relish 
this  mixture  made  of  crude  and  fiery  Louisiana  rum, 
but  the  soldiers  were  not  so  fastidious;  they  said  they 
7 


98  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

often  had  occasion  to  repeat  the  remark  of  the  Gov- 
ernor of  North  Carolina  to  the  Governor  of  South  Caro- 
lina that  "it  was  a  long  time  between  drinks." 

Monroe  removed  the  dishes  and  retired  to  the  kitchen 
while  the  guests  lingered  over  the  dessert.  The  cook 
sat  and  looked  down  the  river.  The  window  com- 
manded a  view  for  two  miles.  Her  work  was  done 
and  she  manifested  her  relief  by  breaking  into  singing 
these  words: 

"  John  saw,  J-o-h-nsaw, 
John  saw  de  holy  number 
Settin'  roun  de  golden  altar. 
Golden  chariot  come  fer  me,  come  fer  me, 
Golden  chariot  come  fer  me, 
Childun  didn't  he  rise  ?  " 

She  had  commenced  the  second  verse,  "  John  i$aw," 
when  suddenly  her  jaws  fell,  and  springing  up  she  ex- 
claimed :  "  Jesus  marster !  what's  dat  ?  Look  !  Every- 
body !  Here  comes  er  gunboat,  en  Kiley's  house  is  er 
fire.  Don't  yer  see  it  bu'nin !  Kim,  boy,  run,  en  call 
Miss  Vine !  Tell  Mis  Lizer !  Go  dis  minit  an'  let  'em 
all  know,  I  tell  yer ! "  "  Set  right  down,  set  down, 
Aunt  Becky !  'tain't  none  er  my  business  to  tell  nuthin'. 
Set  right  down,  'oman,  en  let  dem  white  folks  'lono," 
and  the  man  seized  her  and  pushed  her  with  all  his 
force  towards  the  chair. 

The  woman  turned  fiercely  upon  him  and  planted  a 
blow  on  the  side  of  his  head  which  sent  him  headlong 
on  the  floor.  "  Look  er-heah,  boy,  who  is  you  foolin' 
wid,  anyhow  ?     You  think  yerself  a  man,  does  yer  when 


Miss  Vine's  Dinner  Party.  99 

yous  er  born  fool !  I  let  you  know  it  tuck  de  tightest 
overseer  ole  marster  ever  had  on  dis  plantashun  to  rule 
me.  No  nigger  like  you  better  try  ter  tackle  Becky. 
I'll  double  you  up  an  fling  you  outer  dis  winder  in  no 
time.  You  neenter  tell  nuthin.  "  I'll  go  tell  'em — I'll 
go  ef  Gawd  spars  me  to  git  dar.  I  nussed  Miss  Vine; 
dat  gal  used  to  suck  dese  yere  " — and  Becky  eloquently 
placed  her  hands  on  her  round  ebony  bosom.,  as  she 
broke  into  a  full  run  from  the  kitchen  door.  She  en- 
tered the  dining-room  crying  out  in  breathless,  agitated 
tones,  "  Look  heah,  people,  thar's  a  big  gunboat  er 
comin'  up  de  river  en  Eiley's  house  is  er-fire ! " 

In  an  instant  confusion  and  utter  consternation 
reigned.  "  Good  God  !  "  exclaimed  Vine,  "  and  here's 
all  mother's  silver!  Like  a  fool  I  dug  it  up  out  of 
the  garden  this  morning.  Here,  Aunt  Becky,  help  me 
gather  it  up."  The  woman  soon  rattled  a  pile  of 
spoons  and  forks  into  a  dishpan.  "  No,  no,"  screamed 
Vine,  "  don't  wash  them,  let  me  hide  them,,  quick, 
somewhere ! " 

The  officers  and  soldiers  had  disappeared,  and  in  ten 
minutes  the  only  male  creatures  to  be  seen  on  the  place 
were  Monroe  and  the  baby.  The  man  was  in  fine  spirits 
while  engaged  in  assisting  the  young  ladies  to  mount 
their  horses.  "  Take  kere,  Miss  Em'ly,  dis  is  a  skittish 
little  creole  pony,  and  you  rides  wid  too  loose  a  rein." 
To  another  he  said,  "'Fore  Gawd,  Miss  Jinnie,  I  hates 
to  see  a  white  lady  like  you  a-riden'  uv  er  mule,  I 
does  dat,  en  er  man's  saddle  too !  Eh,  eh !  "  "  You 
never  mind,"  the  girl  replied ;  "  my  pony  and  both  our 
side-saddles   were   carried   off  by  the   last  raid   from 


ioo  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

Morganza,  and  I  had  no  choice  but  to  use  my  brother's 
saddle  and  this  mule  or  stay  at  home.  Cut  me  a  good 
stick,  Monroe,  and  I  shall  get  along."  "Well,  you'll 
need  a  stick,"  said  Monroe,  "  wid  dat  lazy  ole  mule,  ef 
you  'spects  to  see  home  dis  night." 

One  of  the  horses  jerked  away  every  time  he  was 
led  up  to  the  steps,  but  the  man  was  patient  with  him, 
only  remarking,  "  Dis  hoss  been  brutalized  'bout  de 
head  by  somebody  'twel  he's  a  plum  fool.  Jump  quick, 
Miss  Nelly,  while  um  er  holdin'  him  fer  ye."  The  girl 
sprang  to  her  saddle,  adjusted  her  dress,  and  directed 
the  man  to  spread  a  folded  shawl  for  her  sister  to 
ride  behind.  "  Well,  well,"  said  he,  "  dis  beats  de 
bugs,  to  see  white  ladies  what's  used  to  rollin'  'long 
in  der  carriages  a-ridin'  double  like  dis !  "  "  We  don't 
care,"  said  they,  as  the  party  started  off  gaily  down 
the  road. 

After  the  last  departure  Monroe  went  to  talk  over 
the  eventful  day  with  Becky.  No  allusion  was  made 
to  such  a  small  matter  as  a  passing  blow,  and  the  man 
sat  down  by  the  fire  grinning  with  real  enjoyment. 

"  Didn't  dem  white  folks  scatter  quick  ?  I  tell  yer, 
'Aunt  Becky,  it  done  me  good  all  over  to  see  'em  so 
frustrated,"  and  he  burst  into  a  loud  guffaw.  "When 
sumpin  don'  go  to  suit  de  Templetons,  dey'll  paw  dirt, 
dey'll  do  it,  every  time,  frum  ole  marster  down  to  de 
baby  one.     Whut  did  Miss  Vine  say  about  it  ?  " 

"  Well,"  said  Becky,  "  lemme  tell  yer  'bout  Miss  Vine ; 
de  fust  thing  she  done  arter  I  bounced  in  en  tole  de 
news — she  gathered  up  de  spoons  en  forks,  en  dem 
silver  tumblers,  en  sieh,  belonging  to  ole  Mis',  en  den 


Miss  Vine's  Dinner  Party.  101 

she  look  'roun'  en  seed  de  men  wus  all  gone;  den  she 
clinched  her  teeth,  en  des  doubled  up  her  fis',  she  did, 
en  shuck  it  t'wards  dat  big  ole  boat  es  she  come  puffin' 
en  blowin'  up  de  river,  wid  de  great  big  cannons 
a-sticken  outen  her  sides,  en  des  a-swarmin'  all  over  wid 
de  blue-coats,  en  says  she :  '  Dern  you  infernal  black 
souls !  I  wish  to  Gawd  every  one  of  you  was  drownded 
in  de  bottom  of  de  river." 

"  Lord ! "  said  Monroe,  catching  his  breath,  "  now 
didn't  she  cuss  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sirree !  she  did  dat ;  en  so  would  you,  en  me," 
said  Becky. 

"  But  she's  white,"  said  the  man.  "  I  don't  keer  ef 
she  is ;  ain't  white  folks  got  f eelin's  same  as  we  is  ?  " 
asked  Becky.  "  No,"  said  Monroe,  "  dey  ain't ;  some 
of  um  is  mighty  mean,  yes,  a  heap  of  'em." 

"  Yo  cayn't  set  down  here  and  'buse  Miss  Vine,"  said 
Becky,  "we're  'bleeged  to  gib  her  de  praise.  Ef  its 
'f o'  her  face  or  'hine  her  back,  um  boun'  to  say  it ;  she's 
de  feelin'est  creetur,  de  free-heartedest,  de  most  corn- 
descendin'est  young  white  'oman,  I  ever  seed  in  all 
my  life, — fer  a  f  ac'.  But  when  she  done  so  " — here 
Becky  shook  her  fist  in  imitation  of  Vine's  passionate 
outbreak,  "  en  said  dat  I  done  tole  yer,  Miss  Eliza  put 
in  en  spoke  up  she  did,  en  says  she,  '  Laviney,  yo  must 
certinly  forgit  yo  is  er  lady ! '  Whew !  Miss  Vine 
never  heerd  her.  'Twan't  no  use  fer  nobody  to  say 
nuthin'.  I  tell  you  dat  white  gal  rared  en  pitched  untwel 
she  bust  into  be  bitteres'  cry  yo  ever  heerd  in  yo  life. 
She  said  dem  devils  warn't  satisfied  wid  killin'  her 
Paul,  en  makin'  her  a  lonesome  widder,  but  here  dey 


102  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

comes  agin,  jes'  as  she  were  joy  in'  herse'f,  jes'  es  she 
were  takin'  a  little  plesyure,  here  dey  comes  a  knockin' 
uy  it  all  in  de  haid,  en  spillin'  de  fat  in  de  fire. 

"  I  was  sorry  for  de  chile,  fer  it  was  de  Gawd's  trufe 
she  spoke,  so  I  comes  back  in  heah,  I  did,  en  got  some 
of  dat  strong  coffee  I  dun  saved  for  yo  en  me,  en  I 
het  a  cupful  an  brung  it  to  her.  c  Here,  honey,'  says  I, 
'  drink  dis  fer  yo  Becky,  en  d-o-n't  cry  no  mo\  dat's 
my  good  baby ! '  She  wipe  up  her  eyes,  en  stop  cryin', 
she  did,  en  drunk  de  coffee.  Dar  I  was,  down  on  my 
knees,  jes'  facin'  of  her,  and  she  handed  back  de  cup. 
'Twas  one  er  ole  Mis'  fine  chaney  cups.  '  Dat's  yo, 
honey,'  says  I,  '  you  musn't  grieve ! '  en  I  was  er  pattin' 
of  her  on  de  lap,  when  she  tuck  a  sudden  freak,  en  I 
let  yo  know  she  ups  wid  dem  little  foots  wid  de  silver 
shoes  on,  en  she  kicked  me  spang  over,  broadcast,  on  de 
no'. 

"  Den  ole  Miss  Lizer,  she  wall  her  eyes  at  Miss  Vine, 
en  say,  '  Laviney,  um  'stonished  to  see  yo  ax  so.'  She 
mout  as  well  er  hilt  her  mouf — fer  it  didn't  do  dat 
much  good,"  said  Becky,  snapping  her  fingers.  "  Den 
arter  er  while,  Miss  Vine  seed  me  layin'  dar  on  de  floor 
en  she  jumped  up  she  did,  en  gin  me  her  two  han's  to 
pull  me  up.  I  des  knowed  I  was  too  heavy  for  her  to 
lif,  but  I  tuck  a  holt  of  her,  en  drug  her  down  in  my 
lap  en  hugged  her  in  my  arms,  pore  young  thing ! 
Den  I  jes'  put  her  down  e-a-s-y  on  de  hath-rug,  'fo'  de 
fire,  en  kiver  her  up  wid  a  shawl.  Den  I  run  up-sta'rs 
en  fotch  a  piller,  en  right  dar  on  de  foot  of  de  bed 
she  had  done  laid  out  dat  spangly  tawlton  dress,  en  I 
des  knowed  she  wus  gwine  to  put  it  on,  en  dance  de 


Miss  Vine's  Dinner  Party.  103 

Highlan'  fling  dis  very  ebenirr.  Can't  she  out-dance 
de  whole  river  anyhow  ?  "  said  Becky. 

"  Oh !  "  said  Monroe,  "  I  don't  'spute  dat.  I  love  to 
see  her  in  her  brother  Frank's  close  a-jumpin'  up  to 
my  fiddle !  den  she  bangs  a  circus — dat  she  do !  " 

Becky  continued  her  narration :  "  I  conies  back  en 
lif  s  her  head  on  de  piller,  en  pushed  up  the  chunks  to 
men'  de  fire,  en  lef  her  dar  sobbin'  herself  down  quiet." 
Becky  sighed  and  went  on :  "I  tell  yo,  man,  when  dat 
little  creetur  dar  in  de  house  takes  a  good  start — yo 
cayn't  hole  her,  nobody  nee'n'  to  try;  you  cayn't  phase 
her  I  tell  you.  En  dar's  Beth,  she's  gwine  be  jes'  sich 
er  nother — I  loves  dat  chile  too !  She  don't  feature 
her  mar  neither,  'ceppen  her  curly  head. 

"  But  dis  won't  do  me.  Less  go  up  frum  here,  Mon- 
roe. Yo  make  up  a  light,  en  less  go  to  de  hen-house 
en  ketch  a  pasel  of  dem  young  chickens,  en  put  'em  in 
de  coop.  I  wants  to  brile  one  soon  in  de  mawnin'  en 
take  it  to  Miss  Vine  wid  some  hot  co'n  cakes.  She's 
used  to  eatin'  when  she  fust  wakes  up,  en  um  gwine  to 
have  sumpen  ready  fer  her,  fer  I  give  you  my  word,  dey 
ain't  de  fust  Gawd's  bit  er  nuthin  'tall  lef  frum  dat 
ar'  dinner  party." 


CHAPTER  X. 

OUR  FEDERAL  FRIENDS  AND  THE  COLORED  BROTHER. 

The  bewilderment  of  the  negroes  in  the  great  social 
upheaval  that  came  with  peace  was  outdone  by  that  of 
the  white  people.  The  conditions  of  the  war  times  had 
been  peaceable  and  simple  compared  with  the  perplexi- 
ties of  existence  now  precipitated  upon  us.  The  Con- 
federacy's 175,000  surrendered  soldiers — and  these  in- 
cluded the  last  fifteen-year-old  boy — were  scattered 
through  the  South,  thousands  of  them  disabled  for 
work  by  wounds,  and  thousands  more  by  ill-health  and 
ignorance  of  any  other  profession  than  that  of  arms. 
The  Federal  soldiers  garrisoned  all  important  places. 
A  travesty  of  justice  was  meted  out  by  a  semi-civil 
military  authority.  Every  community  maintained  an 
active  skirmish-line  against  the  daily  aggressions  of 
the  freedmen  and  the  oppressions  of  the  military  arm. 
Large  sums  were  paid  by  citizens  to  recover  property 
held  by  the  enemy;  and,  for  a  time,  the  people  paid  a 
per  cent,  out  of  every  dollar  to  the  revenue  office  for 
a  permit  to  spend  that  dollar  at  stores  opened  by 
Yankees — our  only  source  of  supply. 

Few  persons  had  property  readily  convertible  into 
greenbacks,  and  Confederate  money  was  being  burned 
or  used  by  the  bale  to  paper  rooms  in  the  home  of  its 
104 


Our  Federal  Friends.  105 

possessor.  No  man  knew  how  to  invest  money  that 
had  escaped  the  absorption  of  war,  and  when  he  did 
invest  it  he  usually  lost  it.  For  the  next  ten  years 
what  the  sword  had  not  devoured  the  "  canker  worm  " 
(cotton  worm,,  with  us)  ate  up. 

The  people  were  in  favor  of  reorganizing  the  States 
in  accord  with  the  Union.  But  the  iniquities  of 
carpet-bag  governments  and  the  diabolisms  of  "  black 
and  tan  "  conventions  for  a  long  time  kept  respectable 
men  out  of  politics.  It  was  indeed  too  "  filthy  a  pool " 
to  be  entered.  At  a  longer  perspective  this  seems  to 
have  been  a  mistake.  If  the  best  men  of  the  country 
had  gone  into  the  people's  service — as  did  General 
Longstreet  with  most  patriotic  but  futile  purpose — they 
might  have  arrested  incessant  lootings  of  the  people's 
hard-wrested  tax-money  and  the  nefarious  legislation 
that  enriched  the  despised  carpet-bagger  and  scalawag 
— present,  like  the  vultures,  only  for  the  prey  after  the 
battle.  So  many  men,  however,  had  been  disfranchised 
by  reason  of  Confederate  service  that  it  is  doubtful  if 
enough  respectability  was  eligible  for  office,  to  have 
had  any  purifying  effect  on  public  affairs. 

In  this  crisis  our  Northern  friends  advised  us  after 
the  following  fashion.  Major  A.  L.  Brewer,.  Mr.  Mer- 
rick's uncle,  who  had  belonged  to  Sherman's  army, 
sent  me,  in  1865,  a  letter  from  New  Lisbon,  Ohio: 

"  My  dear  Carrie, — Your  devotion  to  Edwin  makes 
you  very  dear  to  me.  You  know  my  attachment  to 
him  and  that  I  regard  him  as  a  son.     He  was  always 


106  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

my  favorite  nephew.  Since  the  war  is  over  I  trust  that 
he  will  now  take  the  oath  of  allegiance,  and  should  he 
need  any  aid  I  can  render  it.  The  Secretary  of  War, 
Postmaster-General,  Senators  Nolle  and  Sherman  of 
Ohio,  and  many  others,  are  my  staunch  friends. 

"  As  far  as  suffering  is  concerned  you  have  had  your 
share;  but  I  would  gladly  have  endured  it  for  you  if  I 
could  have  saved  my  dear  hoy  Charlie,,  who  fell  in 
battle.  He  was  noble  and  brave,  and  my  heart  is 
chilled  with  grief  for  his  loss. 

"  This  was  a  foolish,  unnatural  war,  and  after  four 
}Tears  of  bloodshed  and  destruction  I  rejoice  that  it  is 
o-ver,  and  that  discord  will  never  again  disturb  the 
peace  in  our  country.  But  the  authors  of  the  rebellion 
have  paid  dearly  for  their  folly  and  wickedness.  When 
I  reflect  upon  the  misery  brought  about  by  a  few  arch 
villains,  I  find  it  hard  to  control  my  feelings; — I 
should  feel  differently  had  they  been  the  only  sufferers. 
When  I  look  upon  the  distress  which  has  fallen  upon 
the  masses  in  the  South,  I  have  no  sympathy  for  the 
instigators  of  the  war. 

"  But,  my  dear,  you  have  fared  better  than  many 
who  came  within  my  observation;  as  I  followed  Sher- 
man, I  have  seen  whole  plantations  utterly  destroyed, 
houses  burnt  and  women  and  children  driven  into  the 
woods  without  warning.  The  torch  was  applied  to 
everything.  Sometimes  the  women  would  save  a  few 
things,  but  in  most  cases  they  went  forth  bareheaded  to 
make  the  ground  their  bed  and  the  sky  their  roof. 
The  next  day  when  the  hungry  children  came  prowling 
around  our  camps  in  search  of  something  to  eat,  the 


Our  Federal  Friends.  107 

Federal  soldiers  who  left  wives  and  children  at  home, 
and  who  had  the  hearts  of  men,  were  sorry  for  them. 
But  such  is  the  cruelty  of  war  and  military  discipline." 

Captain  Charles  B.  White,  a  West  Point  officer  in 
the  United  States  service  in  New  Orleans,  wrote  my 
daughter  Clara,  after  his  return  to  New  York,  in  this 
manner:  "I  find  your  experiences  in  the  kitchen  very 
amusing.  Our  Northern  ladies  have  an  idea  that  you 
of  the  South  know  nothing  practically  of  housekeeping. 
Quite  erroneous  is  it  not?  I  have  been  for  some  time 
in  Boston  and  find  the  girls  here  prettier  as  a  class, 
than  those  of  any  other  city  I  have  visited,  not  excepting 
Baltimore.  They  are  so  sensible  and  self-assisting.  You 
see  that  army  people  look  at  the  practical  side  of  life.  As 
our  salaries  are  not  large  it  is  essential  that  our  do- 
mestic establishments  should  be  as  good  as  possible  with 
the  least  outlay  of  cash.  We  are  therefore  compelled 
to  think  of  our  future  life  companions  in  the  light  of 
these  considerations. 

"  It  is  very  agreeable  to  be  here  with  those  in  full 
accord  on  social  and  political  subjects, — not  that  I  am 
a  politician;  but  since  we  are  the  victors,  I  hold  that 
we  cannot  ignore  the  principles  for  which  we  fought. 
I  think  that  it  behooves  Wade  Hampton,  Toombs,  Cobb 
and  Eobert  Ould  to  hold  their  tongues,  and  to  be  thank- 
ful that  they  are  not  punished  for  their  evil  deeds, 
rather  than  be  so  blatant  of  their  own  shame.  I  am 
sorry  to  find  you  in  favor  of  Mr.  Seymour.  He  is 
from  my  own  State,  but  he  is  a  blot  upon  it ;  personally 
he  is  a  gentleman, — as  far  as  a  dough-face  and  a  cop- 


108  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

per-head  can  be  one.  A  few  Northern  politicians  may, 
for  self-interest,  humble  themselves  and  praise  traitors, 
but  the  masses  are  as  much  disposed  as  ever  to  make 
treason  odious.  The  South  ought  not  again  to  fall  into 
the  error  of  1860,  and  estrange  their  real  friends-,  and 
irritate  the  Northern  masses.  We  have  undisguised 
admiration  for  General  Longstreet  and  his  class  who 
became  reconstructed  and  attend  to  business. 

"  I  do  not  admire  Mr.  S.  W.  Conway  nor  other  ad- 
venturers in  Louisiana,  but  their  opponents  are  still 
more  unreasonable  and  unprincipled.  It  will  take  me 
some  time  to  become  convinced  that  plantation  negroes 
will  make  good  legislators.  I  have  not  been  in  favor 
of  negro  suffrage,  but  now  it  seems  the  only  expedient 
left  us  for  the  reconstruction  of  the  turbulent  South. 
All  sorts  of  lies  are  trumped  up  by  the  Democrats 
about  Grant  and  Colfax.  I  always  object  to  personal 
abuse  in  a  political  controversy. 

"  I  see  my  services  will  be  no  longer  required  in  Louis- 
iana, and  my  leave  expires  next  month.  I  see  with  equal 
clearness  that  beyond  my  immediate  circle  of  friends 
I  shall  scarcely  be  missed.  How  humbling  to  a  con- 
ceited man,  who  thinks  himself  essential,,  to  return  and 
find  the  household  going  on  just  as  well  without  him ! " 

With  such  amenities  of  intercourse  between  the  con- 
quered and  the  conquerors  it  may  not  seem  to  some  ob- 
servers extraordinary  that  reconstruction  progressed  so 
slowly.  Mr.  Eichard  Grant  White  said  in  the  North 
American  Review  respecting  the  great  struggle  of  the 
Sections :    "  The    South   had   fought   to    maintain    an 


Our  Federal  Friends.  109 

inequality  of  personal  rights  and  an  aristocratic  form 
of  society.  The  North  had  fought,  not  in  a  crusade  for 
equality  and  against  aristocracy,  but  for  money — after 
the  first  flush  of  enthusiasm  caused  by  '  firing  on  the 
flag'  had  subsided.  The  Federal  Government  was  vic- 
torious simply  because  it  had  the  most  men  and  the 
most  money.  The  Confederate  cause  failed  simply 
because  its  men  and  its  money  were  exhausted;  for  no 
other  reason.  Inequality  came  to  an  end  in  the  South; 
equality  was  established  throughout  the  Union;  but  the 
real  victors  were  the  money-makers,  merchants,  bank- 
ers, manufacturers,  railwaymen,  monopolists  and  specu- 
lators. It  was  their  cause  that  had  triumphed  under 
the  banners  of  freedom." 

Words  cannot  give  so  strong  a  confirmation  of  the 
above  as  the  fact  of  the  South's  pitiful  175,000  men 
against  the  1,000,000  men  of  the  North  mustered  out 
of  service  after  the  surrender.  But  it  is  not  my  purpose 
to  enter  upon  the  history  of  the  civil  war  farther  than 
it  touched  my  own  life. 

"  Write  our  story  as  you  may, 

but  even  you, 

With  your  pen,  could  never  write 
Half  the  story  of  our  land 


"  Warrior  words — but  even  they 

Fail  as  failed  our  men  in  gray  ; 

Fail  to  tell  the  story  grand 
Of  our  cause  and  of  our  land." 

A  pretty  young  creature  said  to  her  aged  relative: 
"  Why,  money  can  never  make  people  happy !  " 


no  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

"  No,  my  child/'  replied  the  old  lady.,  "  but  it  can 
make  them  very  comfortable."  The  South  learned  in 
the  direst  way — through  the  want  of  it — the  comfort 
of  money.  It  has  learned  also  through  the  aggressions 
of  trusts  and  monopolies  how  comfortable  and  danger- 
ous a  thing  money  may  prove  to  be  to  the  liberties  of  a 
people.  It  was  during  the  war  and  soon  after  it  that 
vast  fortunes  were  made  at  the  North. 

The  South  has  long  ago  accepted  its  destiny  as  an  in- 
tegral element  of  the  United  States  and  the  great  Ameri- 
can people.  It  has  set  its  face  resolutely  forward  with 
historic  purpose.  It  clings  to  its  past  only  as  its  tra- 
ditions and  practices  safe-guarded  constitutional  rights 
and  the  integrity  of  a  true  republic.  Its  simpler  so- 
cial structure  has  enabled  it  to  keep  a  clearer  vision  of 
the  purposes  of  our  forefathers  in  government  than  the 
North,  with  its  tremendous  infiltration  of  foreigners 
ingrained  with  monarchical  antecedents,  and  with  the 
complex  interests  of  many  classes.  Never,  perhaps,  so 
much  as  now  has  a  "  solid  South  "  been  needed  to  help 
to  keep  alive  the  principles  of  true  democracy.  But 
"  old,  sore  cankering  wounds  that  pierced  and  stung, — 
throb  no  longer." 

Money  is  comfort,  but  love  is  happiness.  The  love 
of  one  God  and  a  common  country  "  has  welded  fast  the 
links  which  war  had  broken." 

•The  negro  question  of  the  South  has  become  the 
problem  of  the  nation.  This  is  retributive  justice;  for 
the  North  introduced  slavery  into  the  colonial  provinces, 
and  sold  the  slaves  to  the  South  when  they  had  ceased 
to  be  profitable  in  Massachusetts.     The  South  found 


Our  Federal  Friends.  in 

them  remunerative  and  kept  them.  This  branch  of  the 
subject  ma}'  be  dismissed  with  the  reflection  that  it  is 
a  disposition  common  to  humanity  to  use  any  sort  of  so- 
phistry to  excuse  or  palliate  bias  of  feeling  and  depar- 
tures in  conduct  from  the  right  way.  Everybody — 
North  and  South — is  equally  glad  that  slavery  is  now 
abolished,  notwithstanding  differences  of  opinion  as  to 
the  methods  by  which  it  was  accomplished. 

Judge  Tourgee,  in  his  "  Fool's  Errand,"  said :  "  The 
negroes  were  brought  here  against  their  will.  They 
have  learned  in  hvo  hundred  years  the  rudiments  of 
civilization,  the  alphabet  of  religion,  law,,  mechanic  arts, 
husbandry.  Freed  without  any  great  exertion  upon 
their  part,  enfranchised  without  any  intelligent  or  in- 
dependent cooperation — no  wonder  they  deem  them- 
selves the  special  pets  of  Providence."  Seven  years  ago 
when  cotton  was  selling  for  four  cents  a  pound  and 
starvation  was  staring  in  the  face  alike  the  planter  and 
the  negro  tenant,  the  owner  of  a  large  plantation  said 
to  one  of  her  old  slaves :  "  Oh,  these  are  dreadful 
times,  Maria  !  How  are  we  to  live  through  them  !  I'm 
distressed  for  the  people  on  the  place.  I  fear  they  will 
suffer  this  winter !  "  "  Lor,  Miss  Annie,"  Maria  re- 
plied, "  I  ain't  'sturbin'  my  mine  'bout  it.  White  folks 
dun  tuk  keer  me  all  my  life  an'  I  spec's  they  gwine  ter 
keep  on  ter  the  eend ! "  The  negro  Providence  is 
"  white  folks."  If  they  seem  a  bit  slow  in  doling  out 
to  their  desire  they  know  how  to  help  themselves,  and 
it  is  well  they  do. 

The  sudden  freedom  of  the  black  man  as  a  war 
measure  and  his  enfranchisement  as  a  political  neces- 


ii2  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

sity  of  the  Kepublican  party  was  a  social  earthquake 
for  the  South  and  a  sort  of  moral  cataclysm  for  the 
North.  The  one  was  too  stunned  by  the  shock,  the 
other  too  delirious  with  success  to  be  able  to  grasp  the 
portent  of  such  an  event  in  the  national  life.  The 
North  approached  it  with  abolition,  fanaticism,  and  ex- 
pected the  liberated  slave  to  be  an  ally  of  freedom  of 
which  he  had  no  true  conception.  The  South  was  an 
instinctive  and  hereditary  ruler,  and  the  freedman  was 
overrunning  its  daily  life  and  traditions.  It  is  not 
wonderful  that  the  negro  has  suffered  in  this  conflict 
of  antagonistic  ideas. 

The  enfranchisement  of  the  old  slave  has  set  back 
the  development  of  the  South  for  a  generation,  because 
it  has  been  compelled  to  gauge  all  its  movements  on  the 
race  line.  It  has  hindered  the  North  for  an  equal 
time  because  the  political  value  of  the  colored  brother 
to  the  Kepublican  party  has  seemed  to  overshadow  every 
other  phase  of  his  development.  But  schooling  and 
training  can  remodel  even  the  prejudices  of  intelligent 
minds  and  sincere  natures.  Thirty-five  years  of  mis- 
takes have  convinced  both  North  and  South  that  the 
negro  has  been  long  enough  sacrificed  to  political  in- 
terests. 

Those  only  who  have  long  lived  where  the  negro 
equals  or  outnumbers  the  white  population  can  under- 
stand his  character,  and  the  grave  problem  now  confront- 
ing this  nation. 

The  danger  of  enfranchising  a  large  class  unin- 
structcd  in  the  duties  of  citizenship  and  totally  igno- 
rant of  any  principles  of  government,  will  prove  an  ex- 


Our  Federal  Friends.  113 

periment  not  in  vain  if  it  enforces  on  the  people  of  the 
United  States  the  necessity  to  restrict  suffrage  to  those 
who  are  trained  in  the  knowledge  and  spirit  of  Ameri- 
can institutions.  It  should  serve  to  emphasize  the  un- 
wisdom and  injustice  of  denying  the  ballot  because  of 
sex  to  one  half  of  its  American  born  citizens  who,  by 
education  and  patriotism,  are  qualified  for  the  highest 
citizenship.  Our  government  will  never  become  truly 
democratic  until  it  lives  up  to  its  own  principles,  "  No 
taxation  without  representation,  no  government  without 
the  consent  of  the  governed."  Suffrage  should  be  the 
privilege  of  those  only  who  have  acquired  a  right  to  it  by 
educating  themselves  for  its  responsibilities.  A  proper 
educational  qualification  for  the  ballot,  without  sex  or 
color  lines,  would  actualize  our  vision  of  "  a  government 
for  the  people,  of  the  people  and  by  the  people,"  and 
would  eliminate  the  ignorant  foreigner  of  all  nationali- 
ties and  colors,  as  well  as  the  white  American  who  is  too 
indolent  or  unintelligent  to  fit  himself  for  the  duties 
of  citizenship. 

Happily  the  true  friend  of  the  Afro-Americans, 
North  and  South,  begins  to  distinguish  between  their 
accidental  and  their  permanent  well-being.  The  negro 
himself  is  coming  to  realize  that  he  must  make  the  peo- 
ple with  whom  he  lives  his  best  friends ;  that  the  condi- 
tions which  are  for  the  good  of  the  whites  of  his  com- 
munity are  good  for  him;  that  his  development  must 
be  economic  instead  of  political;  that  only  as  he  learns 
to  cope  with  the  Anglo-Saxon  as  a  breadwinner  will  he 
become  truly  a  freed  man. 

•    The  African  in  the   South  is  better  off  than  any 
8 


H4  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

laboring  class  on  earth.  His  industrial  conditions  have 
less  stress  in  them.  He  is  seldom  out  of  work  unless 
by  his  own  choice  or  inefficiency.  The  climate  is  in 
his  favor.  In  the  agricultural  districts  land  is  cheap 
for  purchase  or  rent.  Gardens,  stock,  poultry  and 
fruit  are  easily  at  his  command.  For  little  effort  he 
is  well  clothed  and  well  fed.  Fuel  costs  him  only  the 
gathering.  The  soil  responds  freely  to  his  careless  cul- 
tivation. In  the  trades  no  distinctions  are  made  be- 
tween the  white  and  the  colored  mechanic  as  to  wages  or 
opportunity.  There  is  no  economic  prejudice  against 
him;  he  is  freely  employed  by  the  whites  even  as  a  con- 
tractor. But  the  Southern  white  will  "  ride  alone  " — 
even  in  a  hearse — rather  than  ride  with  the  negro  so- 
cially outside  the  electric  cars.  Otherwise  his  old  mas- 
ter is  the  negro's  best  friend.  A  study  of  the  State 
Eeport  of  Education  will  convince  the  most  skeptical 
that  the  public  school  fund  is  divided  proportionally 
with  the  colored  schools,  though  the  whites  pay  nearly 
the  whole  tax.  Besides,  while  Ohio,  and  perhaps  other 
Northern  States,  prohibit  negro  teachers  in  the  public 
schools,  the  South,  with  a  view  to  rewarding  as  well  as 
stimulating  the  ambition  of  the  student,  gives  the  pref- 
erence to  colored  teachers  for  their  own  schools. 

Removed  from  the  arena  of  politics  the  black  man 
has  no  real  enemy  but  himself.  It  will  not  do  to  judge 
the  masses  by  the  few  who  have  been  able  to  lift  them- 
selves above  their  fellows.  Their  religion  is  emotional, 
often  without  moral  standards.  Some  of  them  are  in- 
dolent, improvident  and  shiftless  to  a  degree  that  large- 
ly  affects   white    prosperity.     But    though   they    have 


Becky   Coleman 


Our  Federal  Friends.  115 

faults  which  do  not  even  "  lean  to  virtue's  side/'  they 
are  good-natured,  teachable,  forgiving,  loving  andl 
lovable. 

The  nation  should  look  with  encouragement  and 
gratitude  to  Booker  T.  Washington  as  the  real  Moses 
who,  by  industrial  education,  proposes  to  lead  his 
people  out  of  their  real  bondage.  Only  by  making 
themselves  worthy  will  they  be  able  to  exist  on  kindly 
terms  with  the  white  race.  The  same  slow  process  of 
the  ages  which  has  wrought  out  Anglo  Saxon  civiliza- 
tion will  elevate  this  race.  Nature's  law  of  growth  for. 
them,  as  for  white  people,  is  struggle.  The  fittest  will 
survive. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

laura's  death  in  the  epidemic  op  '78. 

The  war  fully  ended  and  our  city  home  recov- 
ered, we  removed  to  New  Orleans.  I  devoted  myself 
wholly  to  my  family  and  to  domestic  affairs.  Friends 
gathered  about  us  and  some  delightful  people  made  our 
neighborhood  very  pleasant.  It  was  in  my  present 
home  that  my  daughter  Laura  was  married  to  Louis  J. 
Bright,  and  soon  after,  Clara  was  united  to  James  B. 
Guthrie;  both  young  men  were  settled  in  New  Orleans, 
so  that  I  was  spared  the  pain  of  total  separation.  My 
son  David  established  himself  on  his  own  plantation  in 
Point  Coupe,  and  soon  after  married  Miss  Lula  Dow- 
dell  of  Alabama.  Our  summers  were  spent  alternately 
in  Myrtle  Grove  and  the  North,  or  the  Virginia  Springs. 

Mothers  are  usually  held  responsible  for  the  short- 
comings of  their  children.  Sometimes  this  is  just,  but 
children  often  cruelly  misrepresent  good  parents.  It 
should  never  be  forgotten  that  mothers  and  children  are 
very  human,  and  that  the  vocation  upon  which  young 
people  enter  with  least  training  is  parenthood.  Chil- 
dren and  parents  get  their  training  together.  It  takes 
love  and  wisdom  and  proper  environment  to  bring  both 
to  their  best;  but  sometimes  evil  hereditary  and  vicious 

social  institutions  prove  stronger  than  all  of  these  com- 
116 


Laura's  Death.  117 

binecl  forces  of  the  home.  'The  nation  can  never  know 
the  power  and  beauty  of  the  mother  until  it  evolves  a 
true  protective  tenderness  for  the  child,  and  encom- 
passes it  with  safest  conditions  for  its  development. 
It  is  a  growing  wonder  that  women  have  borne  so  long 
in  silence  the  existence  of  establishments  which  the 
State  fosters  to  the  debasement  of  their  sons.  Only 
the  habit  of  subjection — the  legacy  of  the  ages — could 
have  produced  this  pathetic  stoicism.  If  a  horse  knew 
his  strength,  no  man  could  control  him.  When  women 
realize  their  God-given  power,  the  community  in  which 
their  children  are  born  will  not  tempt  them  to  their 
death  by  the  open  saloon,  the  gambling  den  and  the 
haunt  of  shame.  Until  that  happy  time  the  inexhausti- 
ble supply  of  love  and  sympathy  which  goes  out  from  the 
mother-heart  is  the  child's  chiefest  shelter.  Obedience 
is  what  parents  should  exact  from  infants  if  they  expect 
it  from  grown  children.  The  slaves  of  the  severer  mas- 
ters stayed  with  them  during  the  war,  when  those  of 
indulgent  ones  ran  away.  It  is  the  petted,  spoiled 
darlings  whose  ultimate  "  ingratitude  is  sharper  than 
the  serpent's  tooth." 

When  friends  were  won  by  my  daughters  it  was  grati- 
fying to  me,  for  it  proved  that  the  womanly  accom- 
plishment of  making  themselves  beloved  was  a  lesson 
they  had  laid  to  heart — and  they  had  learned  it  by 
their  own  fireside  where  love  ruled  and  reigned.  I  was 
glad  in  all  my  children,  and  a  devoted  mother  is  sure  of 
her  ultimate  reward.  I  was  very  proud  when  Clara 
replied  to  a  friend  who  expressed  surprise  that  she 
should  visit  me  on  my  reception  day:     "I  should  be 


n8  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

happy  to  claim  a  half-hour  of  my  mother's  society  if 
she  were  not  related  to  me."  I  was  very  content  with 
my  two  daughters  happily  married  and  settled  near  me 
— doubly  mine  by  the  tie  of  congenial  tastes  and  pur- 
suits. 

In  1878  my  household  had  gone  North  for  the  sum- 
mer. On  September  1st  a  telegram  reached  me  at  Wil- 
braham,  Mass.,  saying,  "  Laura  died  at  12  o'clock,  M." 
I  had  plead  with  her  to  leave  New  Orleans  with  me,  but 
in  her  self-sacrificing  devotion  to  her  husband,  who  was 
never  willing  that  she  should  be  absent  from  him,  she 
remained  at  home  and  fell  a  victim  in  the  great  yellow 
fever  epidemic. 

Previous  to  her  marriage  she  had  spent  all  her  sum- 
mers in  the  country  or  in  travel,  and  was  wholly  unac- 
climated.  Clara  wrote  thus  to  Captain  S.  M.  Thomas 
from  Sewanee,  Tenn.,  in  September  of  that  dreadful 
year :  "  The  pity  of  it,  Uncle  Milton !  You  will  un- 
derstand how  it  is  with  us  at  this  time.  Mother  is 
broken-hearted.  You  have  ever  been  a  large  figure  in 
Laura's  and  my  girlhood  recollections,  and  mother  asks 
me  to  write  to  you.  Laura  Ellen's  death  was  just  as 
painful  as  it  could  be.  Father  and  mother  were  in 
Wilbraham,  and  every  one  of  us  gone  but  dear,  good 
cousin  Louise  Brewer,  and  Louis — her  husband.  Oh! 
he  made  a  terrible  mistake  in  remaining  in  that  doomed 
city.  I  have  an  added  pang  that  I  shall  carry  with 
me  till  I  too  go  away — that  I  was  not  with  her  in  her 
supreme  hour. 

"  The  dear  girl  wrote  daily  to  mother,  David,  and 
me,  until  death  snatched  away  her  pen.     '  Fear  not  for 


Laura's  Death.  119 

me,  dearest  mother/  was  on  her  last  postal  card.  '  My 
trust  is  in  God/  It  were  enough  to  make  an  angel 
weep  if  the  true  history  of  this  awful  summer  could  be 
written.  Our  grief  is  without  any  alleviation — unless 
in  sister's  beautiful  character  and  Christian  life.  If 
I  had  been  there  I  should  have  tried  with  superhuman 
efforts  to  hold  her  back  from  death.  It  was  Sunday — 
and  Dr.  Walker  dismissed  his  congregation  at  Felicity 
church  to  go,  at  her  request,  to  her  deathbed.  He  has 
told  us  of  her  great  faith,  her  willingness  to  go,  the  per- 
fect clearness  of  her  mind,  and  the  calm  fortitude  she 
manifested  even  when  she  kissed  her  children  good-by, 
Breathing  softly  she  went  to  sleep  and  closed  her  sweet 
blue  eyes  on  this  world — forever. 

"  Cousin  Louise  says  Louis  was  nearly  frantic.  It  is 
a  terrible  blow,  and  he  has  the  added  pain  of  knowing 
it  might  have  been  different  but  for  the  fatal  mistake 
of  judgment  which  brought  such  awful  results.  I  have 
to  school  myself,  and  fight  every  day  a  new  battle  for 
calmness  and  resignation.  I  shall  never  grow  accus- 
tomed to  the  hard  fact  that  her  bright  and  heavenly 
presence  must  be  forever  wanting  in  her  own  home,  and 
shall  never  again  grace  mine.  She  died  saying,  l  Jesus 
is  with  me ! '  Well  He  might  be,  for  she  died,  as  He, 
sacrificing  herself  for  others." 

There  was  no  one  too  old  or  too  poor,  or  too  uninter- 
esting to  receive  Laura's  attention.  Sometimes  this 
disposition  annoyed  me;  but  though  I  did  not  always 
recognize  it,  she  was  always  living  out  the  divine  al- 
truism of  Christ.  She  was  ever  active  in  charities  and 
a  useful  director  of  St.  Ann's  Asylum. 


120  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

Among  many  others  I  gather  the  following  expres- 
sions in  letters  from  those  who  had  known  her  inti- 
mately :  "  Nobody  feared  her,  everybody  loved  her. 
She  was  an  angel  for  forgiving.  The  brightness  in  her 
life  came  from  the  angelic  cheerfulness  of  her  own 
soul,  which  would  not  yield  to  outward  conditions.  She 
had  an  infinite  capacity  for  getting  joy  out  of  barren 
places." — "  I  do  not  hope  to  know  again  a  nature  so 
blended  in  sweetness  and  strength.  It  is  no  common 
chance  that  takes  away  a  noble  mind — so  full  of  meek- 
ness yet  with  so  much  to  justify  self-assertion.  There 
was  an  atmosphere  of  grace,  mercy  and  peace  floating 
about  her,  edifying  and  delighting  all  who  came  near." 

Coming  from  a  long  line  of  tender,  gentle,  saintly 
women — the  Brewers  on  the  Merrick  side — she  belonged 
to  that  type  celebrated  in  story  and  embalmed  in  song, 
of  which  nearly  every  generation  of  Brewers  has  pro- 
duced at  least  one  representative  human  angel. 

A  more  than  full  measure  of  days  has  convinced  me 
that  among  our  permanent  joys  are  the  friends  who 
have  drifted  with  our  own  life  current.  In  addition  to 
the  pleasure  of  communion  with  lofty  and  sympathetic 
spirits  such  friendships  have  the  "  tendency  to  bring  the 
character  into  finer  life."  "  A  new  friend,"  says  Em- 
erson, "  entering  our  house  is  an  era  in  our  true  his- 
tory." Our  friends  illustrate  the  course  of  our  conduct. 
It  is  the  progress  of  our  character  that  draws  them 
about  us.  Among  those  friends  whom  the  struggling 
years  after  the  war  brought  to  me  was  Mrs.  Anita 
Waugh,  a  Boston  woman;  a  sojourner  in  Europe  while 
her  father  was  U.  S.  Minister  to  Greece,,  a  long-time 


Laura's  Death.  121 

resident  of  Cuba,  and,  during  the  period  in  which  I 
made  her  acquaintance,  a  teacher  in  New  Orleans.  In 
an  old  letter  to  one  of  my  children  I  find :  "  Mrs. 
Waugh  makes  much  of  your  mother.  She  is  happier 
for  having  known  me.  I  have  been  helped  by  her  to 
some  knowledge  from  the  vast  store-house  which  may 
never  be  taken  account  of — still  I  here  make  the  ac- 
knowledgment." 

Frances  Willard  said  of  her,  "  She  is  rarely  gifted, 
and  I  enjoy  her  thought — so  different  from  my  own 
practical  life.     She  is  a  seer  (see-er)  !  " 

Her  wide  acquaintance  with  remarkable  people  in- 
vested her  with  rare  interest.  In  one  of  her  many  let- 
ters to  me,  dated  in  1873,  she  says  with  fine  catholicity 
of  spirit  and  exceptional  insight :  "  I  think  the  so-called 
religious  world  lays  too  much  stress  on  the  infidelity  of 
such  men  as  Tyndall  and  Huxley  and  Spencer.  They 
have  not  reached  the  point  in  their  spiritual  growth 
where  knowledge  opens  the  domain  of  real,  pure  wor- 
ship; they  are  in  a  transition  period,  are  still  groping 
about  in  a  world  of  effects,  living  in  a  world  of  results 
of  which  they  have  not  yet  found  the  cause.  Spencer 
has  given  the  most  masterly  exposition  of  the  nervous 
system  which  has  yet  been  made.  The  next  step  would 
have  been  into  the  domain  of  the  spiritual.  Here  he 
stopped,  because  his  mind  has  not  yet  reached  the  degree 
of  development  in  which  the  utterances  of  truth  per- 
ceived becomes  the  highest  duty.  When  he  shall  have 
rounded  and  brought  up  all  of  bis  studies  to  a  point 
equally  advanced  with  his  Psychology  then  he  will  be 
obliged  to  say,  "  My  God  and  my  Lord ! '  I  hope  he  may 


122  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

soon,  as  Longfellow  said,  '  Touch  God's  right  hand  in 
the  darkness/  " 

Science — and  the  Church — did  not  long  have  to  wait 
for  the  Wallace  and  Henry  Drummond  of  Mrs.  Waugh's 
intuition. 

During  repeated  visits  to  the  Yellow  Sulphur  Springs 
in  Virginia,  Mr.  Merrick  and  I  were  seated  at  table  with 
the  famous  Confederate  Commanders,  General  Jubal 
Early  and  General  G.  T.  Beauregard,  who  had  become 
additionally  conspicuous  by  their  connection  with  the 
Louisiana  lottery.  General  Beauregard  called  fre- 
quently upon  us,  and  I  met  him  also  at  Waukesha, 
in  Wisconsin.  He  was  very  kind  to  me,  and  greatly 
enjoyed  hearing  some  of  my  nonsensical  dialect  read- 
ings. At  the  latter  place  the  women  were  much  im- 
pressed by  his  handsome  and  distinguished  appear- 
ance and  manners.  When  he  called  at  my  hotel  many 
of  them  were  eager  in  their  entreaties  to  be  introduced ; 
our  gallant  general  would  bow  graciously,  but  they 
were  not  to  be  satisfied  unless  he  would  also  take  them 
by  the  hand. 

On  February  24,  1893,  General  Beauregard  was  lying 
in  state  on  his  bier  in  the  City  Hall  of  New  Orleans,  and 
I  was  holding  a  convention  of  the  Louisiana  W.  C.  T.  IT. 
I  could  not  help  alluding  to  the  death  of  this  beloved 
old  soldier,  and  I  asked  the  women  to  go  and  look  upon 
his  handsome  face  for  the  last  time.  He  was  a  perfect 
type  of  his  class — courtly,  generous,  chivalrous.  He 
had  been  in  the  Mexican  war,  and  was  the  only  general 
of  the  old  Confederacy  who  belonged  in  New  Orleans. 
The  hearts  of  the  people  were  touched,  and  when  the 


Laura's  Death.  123 

meeting  adjourned  many  groups  of  W.  C.  T.  TJ.  women 
were  added  to  the  crowds  who  went  to  look  their  last 
upon  the  face  of  the  dead.  Miss  Points  was  pleased  to 
say  in  the  New  Orleans  Picayune :  "  It  was  a  beautiful 
act  on  the  part  of  our  women;  and  it  acquired  a  new 
significance  and  beauty  in  that  it  was  the  outgrowth  of 
the  strong  friendship  and  appreciation  of  the  wife  of 
the  distinguished  man  who  was  our  Chief  Justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court  in  the  days  of  the  Confederacy."  This 
was  a  tribute  which  she  reminded  them  to  offer  to  one 
of  the  dead  heroes  of  our  late  war  between  the  states! 
"  The  great  effort  of  courage  I  have  made  in  my  life 
was  going  in  a  skiff  in  an  overflow,  with  Stephen  and 
Allen,  two  inexperienced  negro  rowers,  to  Eed  Eiver 
Landing  in  order  to  reach  a  steamboat  for  New  Orleans, 
where,  at  the  close  of  the  war,  I  wanted  to  get  supplies 
for  my  family  and  for  my  neighbors,  who  were  in  ex- 
tremities by  reason  of  the  crevasse.  That  was  an  act 
of  bravery — hunger  forced  it — which  astonished  into 
exclamation  the  captain  of  a  Federal  gunboat,  Capt. 
Edward  P.  Lull,  who  made  me  take  the  oath  of  allegi- 
ance before  I  could  leave.  You  know  how  afraid  I  am 
of  water  and  of  any  little  boat ;  but  give  men  or  women 
a  sufficiently  powerful  motive  and  they  can  do  any- 
thing." 


CHAPTEE  XII. 

A  FIEST  SPEECH  AND  SOME  NOTED  WOMEN. 

In  those  broken-hearted  days  Clara  said  with  a  pa- 
thetic earnestness :  "  Now  I  must  try  to  be  two  daughters 
to  you.  You  have  not  lost  all  your  children — only  your 
best  child."  We  drew  nearer  and  more  mutually  de- 
pendent as  time  passed,  each  trying  to  fill  the  awful 
void  for  the  other.  How  could  I  dream  that  the  insa- 
tiable archer  was  only  waiting,  with  fatal  dart  in  rest, 
to  claim  another  victim?  We  made  common  joy  as 
well  as  sorrow,  and  tried  to  lead  each  other  out  into  the 
sunlit  places,  the  simple  pleasures  of  home  and  social 
life. 

Early  in  the  year  1897  a  State  Constitutional  Con- 
vention was  assembled  in  New  Orleans.  The  legal  in- 
equality of  woman  in  Louisiana  had  already  challenged 
the  notice  of  some  women,  and  a  recent  incident  was 
outraging  the  hearts  of  a  few  who  had  the  vision  of  seers. 
The  Board  of  Control  of  St.  Ann's  Asylum — an  insti- 
tution in  New  Orleans  for  the  relief  of  destitute  women 
and  children — was  composed  entirely  of  women.  A 
German  inmate  on  her  deathbed  revealed  that  she  had 
$1,000  in  bank,  and  by  a  will,  witnessed  by  members  of 

the  Board,  she  bequeathed  it  to  the  institution  which 
124 


Some  Noted  Women.  125 

had  sheltered  her.  On  submission  of  the  will  to  pro- 
bate, the  ladies  were  informed  that  it  was  invalid,  be- 
cause a  woman  was  not  a  legal  witness  to  a  will.  The 
bequest  went  to  the  State — and  the  women  went  to 
thinking  and  agitating. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  L.  Saxon  urged  that  we  should  appear 
before  the  Convention  with  our  grievances.  I  did  not 
feel  equal  to  such  an  effort,  but  Mrs.  Saxon  said :  "  In- 
stead of  grieving  yourself  to  death  for  your  daughter 
who  is  gone,  rise  up  out  of  the  ashes  and  do  something 
for  the  other  women  who  are  left !  "  My  husband  in- 
sisted that,  having  always  wanted  to  do  something  for 
women,  now  was  my  opportunity.  Mrs.  Saxon  and  I 
drew  up  the  following  petition : 

"  To  the  Honorable  President  and  Members  of  the 
Convention  of  the  State  of  Louisiana,  convened  for  the 
purpose  of  framing  a  new  Constitution : 

"  Petition  of  the  undersigned,  citizens  of  the  State  of 
Louisiana,  respectfully  represents: 

"  That  up  to  the  present  time,  all  women,  of  whatever 
age  or  capacity,  have  been  debarred  from  the  right  of 
representation,  notwithstanding  the  burdensome  taxes 
which  they  have  paid. 

"  They  have  been  excluded  from  holding  office  save 
in  cases  of  special  tutorship  in  limited  degree — or  of 
administration  only  in  specified  cases. 

"  They  have  been  debarred  from  being  witnesses  in 
wills  or  notarial  acts,  even  when  executed  by  their  own 
sex. 

"  They  look  upon  this  condition  of  things  as  a  griev- 


126  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

ance  proper  to  be  brought  before  your  honorable  body 
for  consideration  and  relief. 

"  As  a  question  of  civilization,  we  look  upon  the  en- 
franchisement of  women  as  an  all  important  one.  In 
Wyoming,  where  it  has  been  tried  for  ten  years,  the 
Lawmakers  and  Clergy  unite  in  declaring  that  this  in- 
flux of  women  voters  has  done  more  to  promote  law, 
morality  and  order,  than  thousands  of  armed  men  could 
have  accomplished. 

"  Should  the  entire  franchise  seem  too  extended  a 
privilege,  we  most  earnestly  urge  the  adoption  of  a  prop- 
erty qualification,  and  that  women  may  also  be  allowed 
a  vote  on  school  and  educational  matters,  involving  as 
they  do  the  interests  of  women  and  children  in  a  great 
degree. 

"  So  large  a  proportion  of  the  taxes  of  Louisiana  is 
paid  by  women,  many  of  them  without  male  representa- 
tives, that  in  granting  consideration  and  relief  for  griev- 
ances herein  complained  of,  the  people  will  recognize 
Justice  and  Equity;  that  to  woman  as  well  as  man 
'  taxation  without  representation  is  tyranny,'  she  being 
'  a  person,  a  citizen,  a  freeholder,  a  taxpayer,'  the  same 
as  man,  only  the  government  has  never  held  out  the 
same  fostering,  protecting  hand  to  all  alike,  nor  ever 
will,  until  women  are  directly  represented. 

"  Wherefore,  we,  your  petitioners,  pray  that  some 
suitable  provision  remedying  these  evils  be  incorporated 
in  the  Constitution  you  are  about  to  frame." 

Four  hundred  influential  names  were  secured  to  the 
petition,  Mrs.  Saxon,  almost  unaided,  having  gained 
three  hundred  of  them.     It  was  sent  to  the  Convention 


Some  Noted  Women.  127 

and  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Suffrage,  which  on 
May  7  invited  the  ladies  to  a  conference  at  the  St. 
Charles  Hotel.  Mrs.  Mollie  Moore  Davis,  Colonel  and 
Mrs.  John  M.  Sandige,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Saxon  were  pres- 
ent. Dr.  Harriette  C.  Keating,  a  representative  woman 
in  professional  life,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  L.  Saxon,  already  a 
well-known  and  fearless  reformer,  and  Caroline  E. 
Merrick,  as  the  voice  of  home,  were  chosen  to  appear  be- 
fore the  Convention  on  the  evening  of  June  16,  1879. 
Eighty-six  members  of  the  Convention  were  present;  a 
half  hundred  representatives  of  "  lovely  woman  "  were 
there.  Mrs.  Myra  Clark  Gaines,  the  celebrated  litigant, 
with  a  few  other  notables,  occupied  the  middle  of  the 
floor,  and  youth  and  beauty  retired  into  a  corner.  Mr. 
Poche,  chairman  of  the  Suffrage  Committee,  and  after- 
ward a  member  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State, 
asked  me  if  I  were  afraid.  "  Afraid,"  I  said,  "  is  not 
the  word.  I'm.  scared  almost  to  death !  "  He  tried  to 
encourage  me  by  recounting  the  terrors  of  many  men 
similarly  placed. 

Mrs.  Keating  was  first  introduced,  and,  at  the  Secre- 
tary's desk,  in  a  clear  voice,  with  dignified  self-posses- 
sion set  forth  the  capabilities  of  women  for  mastering 
political  science  sufficiently  to  vote  intelligently  on 
questions  of  the  day.  Mrs.  Saxon  following,  was  greeted 
with  an  outburst  of  welcome.  She  reviewed  the  cus- 
toms of  various  nations  to  which  women  were  required 
to  conform,  and  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the 
party  which  favored  woman  suffrage  would  poll  twelve 
million  votes.  She  made  clear  that  the  fact  of  sex 
could  not  qualify  or  disqualify  for  an  intelligent  vote: 


128  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

she  mentioned  that  numbers  of  women  had  told  her  they 
wanted  to  be  present  that  night,  but  their  husbands 
would  not  permit  them  to  come. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  Lyle  Saxon  is  a  woman  possessed  of 
fine  intellect  and  an  uncommonly  warm  and  generous 
nature.  She  was  a  pioneer  in  the  Suffrage  Cause  in  the 
South,  and  has  ably  represented  its  interests  in  National 
gatherings.  She  was  sent  as  delegate  from  this  State 
to  the  International  Suffrage  Association  of  the  World's 
Auxiliary  Congress  in  1893.  All  along  the  way  she 
has  given  of  her  best  with  whole-hearted  zeal  to  further 
the  cause  of  women,  and  should  claim  the  undying  grati- 
tude of  those  for  whom  she  has  helped  to  build  the 
bridges  of  human  equality. 

Mr.  Bobertson,  of  St.  Landry,  then  offered  the  reso- 
lution :  "  Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  elective 
franchise  be  directed  to  embody  in  the  articles  upon  suf- 
frage reported  to  this  Convention,  a  provision  giving  the 
right  of  suffrage  to  women  upon  the  same  terms  as  to 
men." 

Under  the  rules  this  resolution  had  to  lie  over. 

Fearing  that  I  could  not  be  heard,  I  had  proposed 
that  Mr.  Jas.  B.  Guthrie,  my  son-in-law,  should  read  my 
speech.  But  Mrs.  Saxon  said :  "  You  do  not  wish  a 
man  to  represent  }rou  at  the  polls;  represent  yourself 
now,  if  you  only  stand  up  and  move  your  lips."  "  I 
will,"  I  said.  "  You  are  right."  The  following  is  my 
address  in  part : 

"  Mr.  President  and  Delegates  of  the  Convention : 

"  When  we  remember  the  persistent  and  aggressive 
efforts  which  our  energetic  sisters  of  the  North  have 


Some  Noted  Women.  129 

exerted  for  so  many  years  in  their  struggle  before  they 
could  obtain  a  hearing  from  any  legislative  assembly, 
we  find  ourselves  lost  in  a  pleasing  astonishment  at  the 
graciousness  which  beams  upon  us  here  from  all  quar- 
ters. Should  we  even  now  be  remanded  to  our  places, 
and  our  petition  meet  with  an  utter  refusal,  we  should 
be  grieved  to  the  heart,  we  should  be  sorely  disappointed, 
but  we  never  could  cherish  the  least  feeling  of  rebellious 
spite  toward  this  convention  of  men,  who  have  shown 
themselves  so  respectful  and  considerate  toward  the 
women  of  Louisiana. 

"  Perhaps  some  of  the  gentlemen  thought  we  did  not 
possess  the  moral  courage  to  venture  even  thus  far  from 
the  retirement  in  which  we  have  always  preferred  to 
dwell.  Be  assured  that  a  resolute  and  conscientious  wo- 
man can  put  aside  her  individual  preferences  at  the  call 
of  duty,  and  act  unselfishly  for  the  good  of  others. 

"  The  ladies  who  have  already  addressed  you  have 
given  you  unanswerable  arguments,  and  in  eloquent 
language  have  made  their  appeal,  to  which  you  could 
not  have  been  insensible  or  indifferent.  It  only  re- 
mains for  me  to  give  you  some  of  my  own  individual 
views  in  the  few  words  which  are  to  conclude  this  inter- 
view. 

"  The  laws  on  the  statute  books  permit  us  to  own  prop- 
erty and  enjoy  its  revenues,  but  do  not  permit  us  to 
say  who  shall  collect  the  taxes.  We  are  thus  compelled 
to  assist  in  the  support  of  the  State  in  an  enforced  way, 
when  we  ourselves  would  greatly  prefer  to  do  the  same 
thing  with  our  own  intelligent,  free  consent. 

"  We  know  this  Eepublic  has  been  lauded  in  the  old 
9 


130  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

times  of  the  Fourth  of  July  orations  as  the  freest,  best 
government  the  world  ever  saw.  If  women,  the  better 
half  of  humanity,  were  allowed  a  voice  and  influence  in 
its  councils,  I  believe  it  would  be  restored  to  its  purity 
and  ancient  glory;  and  a  nobler  patriotism  would  be 
brought  to  life  in  the  heart  of  this  nation. 

"  It  seems  to  me  that  there  ought  to  be  a  time,  to 
which  we  may  look  forward  with  satisfaction,  when  we 
shall  cease  to  be  minors,  when  the  sympathy  and  assist- 
ance we  are  so  capable  of  furnishing  in  the  domestic 
relation,  may  in  a  smaller  degree  be  available  for  the 
good  and  economical  management  of  public  affairs.  It 
really  appears  strange  to  us,  after  we  have  brought  up 
children  and  regulated  our  houses,  where  often  we  have 
the  entire  responsibility,  with  money  and  valuables 
placed  in  our  charge,  that  a  man  can  be  found  who  would 
humiliate  us  by  expressing  an  absolute  fear  to  trust  us 
with  the  ballot. 

"  In  many  nations  there  is  an  army  of  earnest, 
thoughtful,  large-hearted  women,  working  day  and  night 
to  elevate  their  sex;  for  their  higher  education;  to 
open  new  avenues  for  their  industrious  hands;  trying 
to  make  women  helpers  to  man,  instead  of  millstones 
round  his  neck  to  sink  him  in  his  life  struggle. 

"  Ah,  if  we  could  only  infuse  into  your  souls  the 
courage  which  we,  constitutionally  timid  as  we  are,  now 
feel  on  this  subject,  you  would  not  only  dare  but  hasten 
to  perform  this  act  of  justice  and  inaugurate  the  be- 
ginning of  the  end  which  all  but  the  blind  can  see  is 
surely  and  steadily  approaching.  We  are  willing  to  ac- 
cept anything.     We  have  always  been  in  the  position  of 


Some  Noted  Women.  131 

beggars,  as  now,  and  cannot  be  choosers  if  we  wished. 
We  shall  gladly  accept  the  franchise  on  any  terms,  pro- 
vided they  be  wholly  and  entirely  honorable.  If  you 
should  see  proper  to  subject  us  to  an  educational  test, 
even  of  a  high  order,  we  would  try  to  attain  it;  if  you 
require  a  considerable  property  qualification,  we  would 
not  complain.  We  would  be  only  too  grateful  for  any 
amelioration  of  o*ir  legal  disabilities.  Allow  me  to 
ask,  are  we  less  prepared  for  the  intelligent  exercise  of 
the  right  of  suffrage  than  were  the  freedmen  when  it 
was  suddenly  conferred  upon  them  ? 

"  Perhaps  you  think  only  a  few  of  us  desire  the  ballot. 
Even  if  this  were  true,  we  think  it  would  not  be  any 
sufficient  reason  for  withholding  it.  In  old  times  most 
of  our  slaves  were  happy  and  contented.  Under  the 
rule  of  good  and  humane  masters,  they  gave  themselves 
no  trouble  to  grasp  after  the  unattainable  freedom 
which  was  beyond  their  reach.  So  it  is  with  us  to-day. 
We  are  happy  and  kindly  treated  (as  witness  our  recep- 
tion to-night),  and  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  numerous 
privileges  which  our  chivalrous  gentlemen  are  so  ready 
to  accord;  many  of  us  who  feel  a  wish  for  freedom  do 
not  venture  even  to  whisper  a  single  word  about  our 
rights.  For  the  last  twenty-five  years  I  have  occasion- 
ally expressed  a  wish  to  vote,  and  it  was  always  received 
with  surprise;  but  the  sort  of  effect  produced  was  as 
different  as  the  characters  of  the  individuals  with  whom 
I  conversed.  I  cannot  see  how  the  simple  act  of  voting 
can  hurt  or  injure  a  true  and  noble  woman  any  more 
than  it  degrades  the  brave  and  honorable  man. 

"Gentlemen  of  the  Convention,  we  now  leave  our 


132  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

cause  in  your  hands,  and  commend  it  to  your  favorable 
consideration.  We  have  pointed  out  to  you  the  signs 
of  the  dawning  of  a  better  day  for  woman,  which  are 
so  plain  before  our  eyes,  and  implore  you  to  reach  out 
your  hands  and  help  us  to  establish  that  free  and  equal 
companionship  which  God  ordained  in  the  beginning  in 
the  Garden  of  Eden  before  the  serpent  came  and  curses 
fell." 

Mrs.  Sarah  A.  Dorsey  was  prevented  by  illness,  which 
terminated  fatally,  from  appearing  personally,  but  sent 
a  letter  which  was  read  before  the  Convention  by  Col. 
John  M.  Sandige.  She  advanced,  among  others,  the 
following  ideas :  "  Being  left  by  the  fiat  of  God  en- 
tirely alone  in  the  world,  with  no  man  to  represent  me ; 
having  large  interests  in  the  State,  and  no  voice  either 
in  representation  or  taxation,  while  hundreds  of  my 
negro  lessees  vote  and  control  my  life  and  property,  I 
feel  that  I  ought  to  say  one  word  that  may  aid  many 
other  women  whom  fate  has  left  equally  destitute.  I 
ask  representation  for  taxation — for  my  sisters  and  for 
the  future  race.  We  do  not  expect  to  do  men's  work, 
we  can  never  pass  the  limits  which  nature  herself  has  set. 
But  we  ask  for  justice;  we  ask  for  the  removal  of  un- 
natural restrictions  that  are  contrary  to  the  elemental 
spirit  of  the  civil  law ;  we  do  not  ask  for  rights,  but  for 
permission  to  assume  our  natural  responsibilities." 

Mrs.  Dorsey  was  a  native  of  Mississippi,  and  became 
widely  conspicuous  by  reason  of  the  bequest  of  her  home, 
Beauvoir,  and  other  personal  property,  to  Mr.  Jefferson 
Davis.  She  made  this  will  because,  as  mentioned  in 
the  document,  "  I  do  not  intend  to  share  in  the  ingrati- 


Some  Noted  Women.  133 

tilde  of  my  country  toward  the  man  who  is,  in  my  eyes, 
the  highest  and  noblest  in  existence."  Mrs.  Elisha 
Warfield,  of  Kentucky,  was  the  aunt  of  Mrs.  Dorsey, 
and  the  author  of  the  novel  "  Beauvoir,"  from  which 
the  plantation  was  named,  and  which  estate  Mrs.  Dorsey 
devoted  to  the  cultivation  of  oranges.  She  was  a  rarely 
gifted  woman.  Besides  the  usual  accomplishments  of 
women  of  her  day,  she  possessed  remarkable  musical 
skill,  and  was  a  pupil  of  Bochsa,  owning  the  harp  which 
he  had  taught  her  to  handle  as  a  master.  She  was  a 
writer  of  power  and  had  studied  law  and  book-keeping. 
A  friend  who  was  present  in  her  last  illness  wrote  me: 
"  She  appeared  to  greater  advantage  in  her  home  than 
anywhere  else.  She  was  of  those  whom  one  comes  to 
know  soon  and  to  love;  and  is  one  of  the  many  who 
have  passed  on,  with  whom  the  meeting  again  is  looked 
forward  to  with  true  delight." 

When  the  new  Constitution  was  promulgated  it  con- 
tained but  one  little  concession  to  women :  "  Art.  232. 
— Women  twenty-one  years  of  age  and  upwards  shall  be 
eligible  to  any  office  of  control  or  management  under 
the  school  laws  of  the  State." 

The  women  of  Louisiana  have  realized  no  advantage 
from  this  law.  Their  first  demand  was  for  a  place  on 
the  school  board  of  New  Orleans,  in  1885.  The  gov- 
ernor fills  by  appointment  all  school  offices.  Gov.  Mc- 
Enery  ruled  that  Art.  232  of  the  Constitution  was  in- 
operative until  there  should  be  legislation  to  enforce  it, 
the  existing  statutes  of  Louisiana  barring  a  woman 
from  acting  independent  of  her  husband,  and  would 
make  the  husband  of  a  married  woman  a  co-appointee 


134  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

to  any  public  office;  that  a  repeal  of  this  in  solido  stat- 
ute was  necessary  before  he  could  place  a  woman  on  the 
school  board. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton's  seventieth  birthday 
was  on  Nov.  12  of  this  year.  In  her  honor  a  special  re- 
ception was  held  by  the  Woman's  Club  of  New  Orleans. 
I  here  reviewed  the  action  of  the  governor  in  a  paper 
which  set  forth  the  following  points:  First,  that  the 
Constitution  is  imperative;  that  legislation  for  its  self- 
acting  and  absolute  provisions  would  be  to  place  the 
creature  in  control  of  the  creator.  Second,  that  the 
legislature  had  no  jurisdiction  over  the  eligibility  of 
women  to  appointment  on  school  boards,  as  the  Consti- 
tution had  explicitly  declared  that  "  women  twenty-one 
and  upwards  shall  be  eligible."  Third,  if  the  gov- 
ernor's objection  against  married  women  were  valid  it 
had  no  force  against  unmarried  women  and  widows. 

Protest,  however,  proved  futile.  No  succeeding  gov- 
ernor appointed  a  woman,  so  no  test  case  was  ever  made, 
and  the  Constitutional  Convention  of  1898  repealed  this 
little  shadow  of  justice  to  women,  even  in  the  face  of 
the  fact  that  at  the  time  the  small  concession  was  made 
one-half  of  the  80,000  children  in  the  public  schools  of 
New  Orleans  were  girls,  and  368  out  of  the  389  teach- 
ers were  women. 


In  1880  I  met  General  and  Mrs.  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  at 
a  private  reception  given  at  the  home  of  Hon.  Walker 
Fearn,  in  New  Orleans.  The  General  was  a  hand- 
some, soldierly  man.      I  told  him  that  we  had  mutual 


Some  Noted  Women.  135 

friends,  and  named  Bishop  Simpson,  whom,  with  his 
wife,  I  had  entertained,  and  liked  because  of  his  liberal 
views  toward  women.  "  That,"  said  General  Grant, 
"  is  what  I  object  to."  "  Oh,  General,"  I  answered,  "  I 
hope  that  you  would  not  be  unwilling  that  we  should 
have  the  ballot?"  "No,  Mrs.  Merrick,  I  should  not 
be  unwilling  that  you  and  Mrs.  Grant  should  vote,  but 
I  should  seriously  object  to  confer  that  responsibilty  on 
Bridget,  your  cook."  I  had  always  heard  that  General 
Grant  could  not  talk,  and  was  surprised  to  find  nim  so 
genial  and  agreeable.  Knowing  me  to  be  a  Southern 
woman,  he  questioned  me  keenly  and  intelligently  about 
the  people  of  my  section.  I  had  a  half -hour  of  delight- 
ful conversation  with  him,  which  he,  equally  with  .my- 
self, seemed  to  enjoy. 

During  the  year  1881  Miss  Genevieve  Ward  was  filling 
an  engagement  at  the  Grand  Opera  House  in  New  Or- 
leans. This  winning  actress  was  a  descendant  of  Jona- 
than Edwards,  the  renowned  Puritan  preacher,  and  at 
that  time  was  in  her  prime.  At  the  request  of  her  hus- 
band^ relatives  in  New  York,  my  daughter  entertained 
this  famous  lady  at  a  lunch  party,  where  I  was  pres- 
ent. We  found  her  a  dignified,  modest  woman,  and, 
like  Charlotte  Cushman,  above  reproach.  She  was  an 
intimate  friend  of  the  great  Ristori.  Among  our  twelve 
guests  was  Geo.  W.  Cable,  already  become  famous.  His. 
last  book,  with  all  of  our  autographs  in  it,  was  given  to 
Miss  Ward  as  a  souvenir  of  the  occasion. 

My  daughter  had  known  Mr.  Cable  in  his  early  lit- 
erary ventures.  He  sometimes  brought  chapters  of  his 
manuscript  to  read  to  her.     The  South  realized  at  once 


136  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

that  a  new  literary  artist  had  arisen  out  of  its  sea  of 
ruin.  That  he  wounded  the  feelings  of  some  of  his 
people  is  largely  attributable  to  the  fact  that  he  spoke 
inopportunely;  his  work  was  cast  upon  the  tolerance  of 
public  opinion  when  every  nerve  was  bleeding  and 
every  heart  hypersensitive  to  suggestion  or  criticism.  It 
was  too  early  an  expression,  and  fell  upon  bristling 
points  of  indignant  protest.  But  that  he  deeply  loved 
his  own  city  and  people  the  most  prejudiced  can  scarcely 
doubt,  now  that  the  perspective  of  three  decades  has 
softened  the  asperities  of  judgment.  Only  a  soul  that 
had  made  it  his  own  could  picture  as  he  has  done  the 
silence,  the  weirdness,  the  majesty  of  the  moss-draped 
swamps  of  lower  Louisiana,  the  crimson  and  purple  of 
the  sunsets  mirrored  upon  the  glistening  surface  of  her 
black,  shallow  bayous, — the  sparse  and  flitting  pres- 
ence of  man  and  beast  and  bird  across  this  still-life 
making  it  but  the  more  desolate.  Cable  was  the  first 
to  see  the  rich  types  afforded  to  literature  in  the  charac- 
ter, condition  and  history  of  the  Creoles,  and  he  has 
transformed  them  into  immortals.  Only  love  can  cre- 
ate "  pictures  of  life  so  exquisitely  clear,  delicately 
tender  or  tragically  sorrowful "  as  he  has  made  of  the 
Latin-Americans.  The  South  has  already  forgiven  his 
historical  frankness  in  its  pride  in  the  artist  who  has 
preserved  for  the  future  the  romance,  and  color,  and 
beauty  of  a  race  that,  like  so  much  else  lovable  and 
poetic  and  inspiring  in  our  early  history,  by  the  end  of 
another  century  will  be  blended  indistinguishably  with 
the  less  picturesque  but  all-prevailing  type  that  is  de- 
termining an  American  people. 


Some  Noted  Women.  137 

I  had  been  so  impressed  by  his  genius  that  I  could 
not  withhold  from  him  my  word  of  appreciation,  and 
received  in  1879  the  following  reply  to  my  note :  "  I 
want  to  say  to  you  that  you  are  the  first  Southerner  who 
has  expressed  gratitude  to  the  author  of  '  Old  Creole 
Days '  for  telling  the  truth.  That  has  been  my  ambi- 
tion, and  to  be  recognized  as  having  done  it  a  little 
more  faithfully  than  most  Southern  writers  is  a  source 
of  as  hearty  satisfaction  as  I  have  ever  enjoyed.  How 
full  our  South  is  of  the  richest  material  for  the  story 
writer ! 

"  G.  W.  Cable." 

About  this  time  Clara  and  the  author  of  "  Innocents 
Abroad "  were  guests  together  in  the  same  home  in 
Buffalo,  New  York,  from  which  place  she  wrote  me: 
"  He  is  a  wonderfully  liberal  yet  clever  talker.  I 
think  I  shall  be  able  to  d-r-a-w-1  like  him  by  two  o'clock 
to-morrow,  when  he  leaves.  He  has  written  in  my  Em- 
erson birthday  book.  When  he  found  the  selection  for 
November  30th  to  be  that  high  and  severely  noble  type 
of  an  ideal  gentleman,  he  laughed  at  its  inappropri- 
ateness,  and  said :  *  With  my  antecedents  and  associa- 
tions it  is  impossible  that  I  can  be  a  gentleman,  as  I 
often  tell  my  wife — to  her  furious  indignation ; ' — so 
he  signs  himself  '  S.  L.  Clemens,  nee  Mark  Twain/  in 
allusion  to  his  early  career  as  a  pilot,  and  the  name  by 
which  the  world  first  knew  him.  I  like  him  immensely, 
and  shall  doubtless  weary  you  some  morning  with  a  re- 
production of  his  numerous  unfoldings." 

I  also  met  Mr.  Clemens  socially  at  Mr.  Cable's  house. 


138  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

Many  years  before,  I  had  seen  Charlotte  Cushman  in 
the  White  Mountains.  We  were  one  day  together  in  the 
same  stage.  An  opportunity  offering,  with  much  de- 
light Miss  Cushman  mounted  to  the  top.  She  made  her 
first  appearance  as  Lady  Macbeth  in  New  Orleans.  She 
looked  the  "  Meg  Merrilies  "  she  had  re-created  for  the 
world, — a  vigorous  woman  in  mind,  body  and  character, 
and  a  gifted  talker;  nobody  else  was'  listened  to  when 
she  was  present.  She  bore  in  her  face  the  earnestness 
of  her  spirit,  the  tragedy  of  her  struggles,  the  intensity 
of  her  sympathy  and  the  calm  strength  of  her  success. 

Not  long  before  her  death  I  met  Mrs.  Eliza  Leslie  in 
Philadelphia.  I  was  exceedingly  glad  of  this  oppor- 
tunity, for  she  was  one  of  the  few  premature  women 
who  had  a  message  to  give,  and  who  did  give  it,  notwith- 
standing in  doing  so  she  had  to  bear  the  disgrace  of 
being  a  "  blue-stocking."  She  was  a  very  quiet  and 
dignified  woman.  I  saw  that  she  was  quite  bored  by 
the  loud  talking  of  some  small  literary  pretenders  who 
were  endeavoring  to  astonish  her  by  their  remarks  on 
French  drama.  One  offered  to  read  to  her  an  original 
poem,  and  the  others  assured  her  that  she  alone  of 
American  women  was  capable  of  rendering  the  .true 
spirit  of  a  French  play.  She  talked  with  me  about  the 
South.  She  said  she  was  glad  to  know  that  she  had 
Southern  readers  and  friends,  and  that  if  ever  she  vis- 
ited the  South  it  would  be  without  prejudices.  I 
thought  of  her  sweet  dishes,  and  I  longed  to  ask  her 
about  the  size  of  that  "  piece  of  butter  as  big  as  a 
hickory-nut "  which,  along  with  a  gill  of  rosewater, 
her  cook-book  constantly  recommended,  to  my  as  con- 


Some  Noted  Women.  139 

stant  perplexity  and  amusement.  (Query — What 
sized  hickory-nut?) 

The  next  year  in  February,  1882,  I  dined  at  Mrs. 
Guthrie's  with  Edwin  Booth  and  his  daughter  Edwina. 
He  was  then  at  his  best,  and  forty-nine  years  of  age.  I 
saw  him  at  that  time  as  Hamlet.  He  was  a  very  modest 
man  and  dreaded  after-dinner  speeches,  saying  they 
gave  him  a  stage-fright,  and  that  he  always  tried  to  sit 
by  a  guest  who  would  promise  to  take  his  place  when  he 
could  not  say  anything.  He  was  shown  a  rare  edition 
of  Shakespere,  and  a  disputed  point  being  introduced, 
he  read  several  pages  aloud  with  remarkable  effect, 
though  reading  in  private  was  contrary  to  his  habit. 
The  day  was  Sunday,  and  he  mentioned  how  delightful 
it  was  to  him  to  be  in  a  quiet  Christian  home  during 
the  sacred  hours.  Booth  acquired  no  mannerisms  with 
age.  His  art  so  mastered  him — or  he  mastered  it — that 
his  simplicity  of  style  increased  with  years,  which  im- 
plies that  his  character  grew  with  his  fame. 

Without  being  a  habitue  of  the  theater,  I  have  en- 
joyed it  from  time  to  time  all  along  my  life-road. 
There  is  undoubtedly  much  to  object  to  in  the  modern 
stage.  Its  personnel,  methods  of  presentation  and  the 
character  of  many  of  the  plays  should  call  down  just 
and  strong  censure.  But  it  seems  to  me  no  more  wrong 
to  act  a  drama  than  to  write  one.  Faith  in  humanity 
and  in  the  ultimate  triumph  of  good  leads  me  to  the 
conclusion  that  if  the  better  people  directed  patient, 
believing  effort  to  the  purification  of  the  stage,  the  time 
would  come  when  histrionic  genius  would  be  recognized 
and  cherished  to  its  full  value;  and  the  best  people 


140  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

would  control  the  theater,  and  would  crowd  from  it 
those  debasing  dramas  which,  as  never  before  in  our 
day,  are  having  the  encouragement  of  the  leading  social 
classes.  It  is  time  something  were  done — and  the  right 
thing — to  make  it  at  least  "bad  form"  that  young 
men  and  women  should  witness  together  the  broadly 
immoral  plays  that  have  of  late  so  much  shocked  all 
right-minded  people.  If  one  generation  tolerates  the 
breaking  down  of  moral  barriers  in  public  thought,  the 
next  generation  may  witness  in  equal  degree  the  de- 
struction of  personal  morality.  The  stage  is  but  the 
expression  of  an  instinctive  human  passion  to  imperso- 
nate. Masquerading  is  the  favorite  game  of  every  nur- 
sery. It  has  been  well  said  that  "  a  great  human  ac- 
tivity sustained  through  many  decades  always  has  some 
deep  and  vital  impulse  behind  it;  misuse  and  abuse  of 
every  kind  cannot  hide  that  fact  and  ought  not  to  hide 
it."  An  instinct  cannot  be  destroyed,  but  it  may  be 
directed — and  nature  is  never  immoral.  Will  the 
church  ever  be  able  to  discriminate  between  that  which 
is  intrinsically  wrong  and  that  which  is  wrong  by  use 
and  misdirection,  and  will  it  set  itself  to  study  without 
prejudice  the  whole  question  of  public  amusements 
as  a  human  necessity,  bringing  the  divine  law  to  their, 
regeneration  rather  than  to  their  condemnation?  The 
existence  of  any  evil  presupposes  its  remedy. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

FRANCES   WILLARD. 

In  June,  1881,  I  spoke  by  invitation  before  the  Alum- 
nse  Association  of  Whitworth  College,  at  Brookhaven, 
Mississippi, — a  venerable  institution  under  the  care  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South.  I  did  not 
give  those  young  women  strong  doctrine,  but  I  set  be- 
fore them  the  duty  to 

"  Learn  the  mystery  of  progression  truly  : — 
Nor  dare  to  blame  God's  gifts  for  incompleteness." 

Bishop  Keener,  the  well-known  opponent  of  women's 
public  work,  sat  beside  me  on  the  platform.  When 
the  addresses  were  concluded,  he  pronounced  them 
"  very  good."  "  For  women  ?  "  I  asked.  "  No/'  he  re- 
turned, "  for  anybody ! "  I  treated  the  gentlemen  to 
some  of  the  extemporaneous  "  sugar  plums  "  which  for 
a  half  century  they  have  been  accustomed  to  shower 
from  the  rostrum  upon  women — "  just  to  let  them  see 
how  it  sounded/'  Though  it  was  against  the  rules, 
they  applauded  as  if  they  were  delighted. 

I  said :  "  Lest  they  should  feel  overlooked  and 
slighted,  I  will  say  a  word  to  the  men — God  bless  them. 
Our  hearts  warm  toward  the  manly  angels — our  Tulers, 
guides,  and  protectors,   to  whom  we  confide   all   our 

141 


142  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

troubles  and  on  whom  we  lay  all  our  burdens.  Oh! 
what  a  noble  being  is  an  honest,  upright,  fearless,  gener- 
ous, manly  man !  How  such  men  endear  our  firesides, 
and  adorn  and  bless  our  homes.  How  sweet  is  their 
encouragement  of  our  timid  efforts  in  every  good  word 
and  work,  and  how  grateful  we  are  to  be  loved  by  these 
noble  comforters,  and  how  utterly  wretched  and  sad  this 
world  would  be,  deprived  of  their  honored  and  gracious 
presence.     Again,  I  say  God  bless  the  men." 

This  occasion  was  of  moment  to  me,  because  it  led 
to  one  of  the  chief  events  of  my  life — my  friendship 
and  work  with  Frances  E.  Willard.  She  had  seen  in 
the  New  Orleans  Times  the  address  I  made  at  Brook- 
haven,  and  was  moved  to  ask  me  if  I  could  get  her  an 
audience  in  my  city,  which  she  had  already  visited 
without  results.  I  had  been  invited  to  join  the  little 
band  enlisted  by  Mrs.  Annie  Wittenmeyer,  the  first  presi- 
dent of  the  National  Woman's  Christian  Temperance 
Union ;  but  I  had  declined,  saying  that  this  temperance 
work  was  the  most  unpopular  and  hardest  reform  ever 
attempted.  However,  I  looked  up  the  remnant  of  the 
first  society,  and  went  with  their  good  president  Mrs. 
Frances  A.  Lyons,  to  call  on  every  minister  in  town, 
requesting  each  to  announce  the  date  of  Miss  Willard's 
address,  and  to  urge  upon  their  congregations  that  they 
should  hear  her  speak.  We  were  uncommonly  success- 
ful, even  that  princely  Christian,  Eev.  B.  F.  Palmer, 
D.  D.,  departing  from  the  usual  Presbyterian  conserva- 
tism. The  result  was  a  large  audience  in  Carondelet 
Methodist  Church,  of  which  Eev.  Felix  E.  Hill  was  the 
brave  pastor ; — for  it  required  no  little  moral  courage  at 


Frances  Willard.  143 

that  time  to  introduce  a  woman  to  speak,  and  to  do  it 
in  a  church,  and  on  a  subject  upon  which  the  public 
conscience  was  not  only  asleep,  but  which  affronted  even 
many  Christians'  sense  of  personal  liberty. 

I  remember  that  I  remonstrated  when  Mass  Willard 
removed  her  bonnet  and  stood  with  uncovered  head. 
But  I  could  find  no  fault  with  the  noble  expression  of 
serene  sadness  on  her  clear-cut  features  and  with  the 
gentle  humility  and  sweetness  which  emanated  from  her 
entire  personality.  Heavenly  sentiments  dropped  in 
fitly  chosen  sentences  with  perfect  utterance,  as  she 
argued  for  the  necessity  of  a  clear  brain  and  pure  habits 
in  order  to  establish  the  Master's  kingdom  on  earth. 
The  hearts  of  the  people  went  out  to  her  in  spontaneous 
sympathy  and  admiration;  and  the  brethren  were 
ready  to  bid  her  God-speed,  for  they  felt  that  this  public 
appearance  was  due  to  an  impelling  conviction  that 
would  not  let  her  be  silent.  Thus  the  New  Orleans 
Methodist  Church,  that  indomitable  pioneer  of  reform, 
proclaimed  "  All  hail !  to  Frances  Willard  and  the  glo- 
rious cause." 

Some  effort  had  been  made  to  attain  this  success. 
With  Miss  Willard's  telegram  in  hand,  I  had  despatched 
a  message  to  my  son,  Edwin  T.  Merrick,  jr.,  and  to  the 
W.  C.  T.  TL,  but  the  train  arriving  ahead  of  time,  a 
carriage  brought  the  expected  guest  and  her  companion, 
Miss  Anna  Gordon,  to  my  door,  where  I  alone  received 
and  welcomed  them.  After  weary  travels  over  thou- 
sands of  miles  and  stoppages  in  a?  many  towns,  they 
were  glad  to  rest  a  week  in  my  home..  I  had  sent  out  hun- 
dreds of  cards  for  a  reception.     My  house  was  thronged. 


144  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

Distinguished  members  of  the  bench,  the  bar,  the  pul- 
pit, the  press  and  the  literary  world  were  present,  and  a 
large  number  of  young  women  and  men.  Frances 
Willard  came  to  most  of  these  as  a  revelation — this 
unassuming,  delicate,  progressive  woman,  with  her 
sweet,  intellectual  face,  her  ready  gaiety  and  her  ex- 
traordinarily enlarged  sympathies,  which  seemed  to  put 
her  spirit  at  once  in  touch  with  every  one  who  spoke  to 
her.  She  wore,  I  remember,  a  black  brocaded  silk  and 
point  lace  iichu.  She  ever  had  the  right  word  in  the 
right  place  as  she  greeted  each  one  who  was  presented. 

She  particularly  desired  to  see  Geo.  W.  Cable,  who 
was  present  with  his  wife.  "  This  is  our  literary  lion 
to-night,"  I  said.  "  Oh,  no !  "  he  replied,  "  I  come 
nearer  being  your  house  cat !  "  at  which  sally  Miss  Wil- 
lard laughed.     This  visit  was  in  March,  1882. 

I  did  not  attend  all  of  Miss  Willard' s  meetings,  and 
was  greatly  surprised  when  on  returning  from  one  of 
them  she  informed  me  that  I  was  the  president  of  the 
W.  C.  T.  U.  of  New  Orleans.  I  protested,  and  let  her 
know  I  did  not  even  have  a  membership  in  that  body 
of  women,  she  herself  being  for  me  the  only  object  of 
interest  in  it.  Finding  that  the  source  of  power  in  my 
family  resided  ultimately  in  the  head  of  the  house,  she 
wisely  directed  her  persuasions  in  his  direction.  It  was 
not  long  before  I  was  advised  by  Mr.  Merrick  to  come  to 
terms  and  do  whatever  Miss  Willard  requested.  This 
was  the  beginning  of  my  work  in  the  Woman's  Christian 
Temperance  Union  and  of  a  friendship  which  lasted 
until  God  called  this  lovely  and  gifted  being  to  come  up 
into  a  larger  life. 


Frances  Willard.  145 

Mrs.  Hannah  Whitehall  Smith  aptly  styled  Frances 
Willard  "  one  of  God's  best  gifts  to  the  American 
womanhood  of  this  century/'  having  done  more  to  en- 
large their  sympathies,  widen  their  outlook  and  develop 
their  mental  aspirations,  than  any  other  individual  of 
our  time.  She  inspired  purpose  and  courage  in  every 
heart.  She  said :  "  Sisters,  we  have  no  more  need  to  be 
-afraid  of  the  step  ahead  of  us  than  of  the  one  we  have 
just  taken."  Women  have  been  ridiculed  for  their  con- 
fidence in  this  glorious  leader.  It  has  been  said  that  if 
Frances  Willard  had  pushed  a  thin  plank  over  a  preci- 
pice, and  had  stepped  out  on  it  and  said :  "  Come !  "  the 
White  Eibbon  host  would  have  followed  her  to  destruc- 
tion. Yes,  they  certainly  would  have  gone  after  her, 
for  they  had  unwavering  faith  that  her  planks  were 
safely  lodged  on  solid  foundations,  plain  to  her  clear 
sight,  even  when  invisible  to  the  rest  of  the  world.  I 
once  told  her  that  she  had  the  fatal  power  attributed  to 
the  maelstrom  which  swallowed  up  ships  caught  in  the 
circle  of  its  attractions;  that  the  women  whom  she 
wished  to  enlist  in  her  work  were  equally  powerless  to 
resist  her  compelling  force.  She  had  a  genius  for 
friendships. 

Nor  were  Miss  Willard's  powers  of  attraction  con- 
fined to  her  own  sex.  Her  fascination  for  men  of  taste 
was  evident  to  the  end  of  her  blessed  life.  Their  letters 
of  late  date  to  her  proved  that  "  age  could  not  wither 
nor  custom  stale  her  infinite  variety."  Gifted  men 
loved  to  sit  at  her  feet;  she  was  kindly  disposed  to  the 
whole  brotherhood.  I  have  heard  her  say,  "  If  there  is 
a  spectacle  more  odious  and  distasteful  to  me  than  a 


146  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

man  who  hates  women  it  is  a  woman  who  hates  men." 
She  also  said :  "  If  there  is  anything  on  earth  I  covet 
that  pertains  to  men  it  is  their  self-respect."  She  com- 
bined in  her  work  a  wonderful  grasp  on  details  and  all 
the  attributes  of  a  great  general,  and  in  her  temperament 
the  intellectual  and  the  emotional  qualities.  This  woman 
was  capable  of  sympathy  toward  every  human  being; 
she  possessed  the  rare  "  fellowship  of  humanity,"  and 
while  she  called  out  the  best  and  noblest  apirations  in 
others,  she  was  herself  the  gentlest  and  humblest  and 
most  ready  to  take  reproof.  She  seemed  incapable  of 
envy  and  jealousy,  and  it  used  to  be  said  at  National 
Headquarters :  "  If  you  want  a  great  kindness  from 
Miss  Willard  it  is  only  necessary  to  persecute  her  a 
little."  With  all  her  discriminating  insight  into  hu- 
man nature,  her  social  relations  were  simply  her  human 
relations ;  she  had  no  time  for  "  society  " — only  for  hu- 
manity. She  proved  to  the  world  that  a  woman  can  be 
strong-minded,  gentle-mannered  and  sweet-hearted  at 
the  same  time,  and  that  the  noblest  are  the  simplest 
souls. 

No  truthful  pen  picture  can  be  given  of  Miss  Willard 
which  does  not  include  some  account  of  the  woman  she 
loved  best  in  the  world.  Lady  Henry  Somerset,  whom 
she  had  long  admired  in  the  distance,  she  loved  at  first 
sight  when  this  titled  lady  came  to  the  World's  and 
National  W.  C.  T.  U.  Conventions,  at  Boston,  in  1891. 
The  rank  and  file  of  her  old  friends  were  startled  and 
sore  to  discover  that  the  queen  of  their  affections,  al- 
ways before  so  easy  of  access,  was  much  absent  after 
business  hour  in  the  Convention,  from  her  headquarters 


Frances  Willard.  147 

at  the  Revere  House,  and  was  with  Lady  Henry  at  the 
Parker  House.  This  emulation  of  the  first  place  in 
their  leader's  regard  for  a  time  somewhat  threatened  the 
unity  and  peace  of  the  White  Ribbon  Army  in  the 
United  States.  But  Lady  Somerset  so  swiftly  made  her 
own  way  into  American  hearts  that  the  littleness  of 
jealousy  was  discarded,  and  the  women  shared  with 
Miss  Willard  high  regard  for  this  noble  Englishwoman — 
the  daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Somers.  The  Review  of 
Reviews  styled  her  "  a  romance  adorning  English  life." 
She  had  only  now  come  to  believe  that  if  the  world's 
woes  are  to  be  lessened,  women  must  grapple  bravely 
with  their  causes  and  range  themselves  on  the  side  of 
those  who  struggle  for  justice;  and  that  the  heart  and 
instinct  and  intellect  of  woman  must  be  felt  in  the 
councils  of  nations.  Thus  she  became  the  foremost 
woman  in  English  reforms. 

I  sent  a  word  to  Lady  Henry  asking  if  she  objected 
to  being  mentioned  in  these  pages,  and  received  the  fol- 
lowing characteristic  reply : 

"Eastor  Castle,  Ledbury,,  Sept.  28,  1899. 
"Mrs.  C.  E.  Merrick: 

"  My  dear  friend,  I  thank  you  very  much  indeed  for 
your  letter.  The  words  you  write  about  Frances  touched 
my  heart.  She  is  indeed  the  woman  of  the  century  who 
has  done  more  than  any  other  to  give  woman  her  place, 
and  yet  retain  her  womanliness.  Anything  you  care  to 
say  about  me  and  my  poor  little  efforts  belongs  to  you. 
Believe  me  yours  in  our  best  and  truest  bond, 

"Isabel  Somerset." 


148  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

While  the  love  I  cherish  for  Frances  "Willard  was 
shared,  in  such  degree,  with  Lady  Henry,  making  a 
common  bond  between  us,  it  was  Mrs.  Hannah  White- 
hall Smith  who  introduced  me  to  her  in  Boston.  Writ- 
ing afterward  to  Mrs.  Harriet  B.  Kells,  in  Chicago,  at 
National  W.  C.  T.  U.  Headquarters  in  the  Temple,  I 
said :  "  Give  my  love  to  our  peerless  Frances,  God  bless 
her !  You  say  she  is  happy  in  the  enjoyment  of  the 
delectable  society  of  Lady  Henry  Somerset.  I  would 
say  God  bless  Lady  Henry  too !  only  she  doesn't  need 
any  blessing,  having  already  everything  on  earth  any 
one  can  wish  for,  with  our  chieftain's  heart  superadded." 

Mrs.  Kells  repeated  this  to  Lady  Henry,  who  seemed 
much  amused,  but  did  not  reveal  whether  there  were  yet 
any  unsatisfied  longings  in  her  life.  Many  American 
hearts  to-day  say  tenderly,  "  God  bless  Lady  Henry ! " 
for  she  is  a  sweet  spirit,  a  brave  soul,  a  true  woman.  It 
is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  these  two  heroic  women 
are  chief  historic  figures  in  the  records  of  their  sex,  and 
while  they  were  needful  to  each  other  their  united  labor 
was  more  important  for  the  world's  reforms. 

So  many  arc-lights  have  been  thrown  on  Miss  Wil- 
lard's  character  that  it  may  not  be  possible  to  add  more 
to  the  world's  knowledge  of  her.  Still  I  should  like  to 
make  known  a  little  of  her  self-revealings  in  letters  to 
me,  on  points  that  illustrate  her  simple  greatness. 
When  the  Red  Cross  was  making  its  first  essays  in 
America,  a  postal  card  came  which  showed  her  friendli- 
ness to  all  worthy  organizations :  "  The  Red  Cross  is 
royal.  No  grander  plan  for  '  We,  Us  &  Co.'  of  North 
and  South.     If  not  in  W.  C.  T.  U.  I  should  give  myself 


Frances  Willard.  149 

to  it.  The  noblest  spirits  of  all  civilized  lands  are  en- 
listed.    Princes  in  the  old  world  are  its  sponsors." 

Again,  she  wrote :  "  How  do  you  like  dear  Miss  Cobbe's 
book,  '  Duties  of  Women'  ?  I  had  a  letter  from  her 
the  other  day  and  the  creature  said,  to  my  astonishment 
and  delight,  that  she  was  just  as  familiar  with  my  name 
as  I  was  with  hers !  And  she  the  biggest  woman  of  the 
age ! " 

No  censure,  abuse  or  disappointment  seemed  ever  to 
destroy  the  sweet  hopefulness  of  her  spirit.  At  one 
time  she  wrote :  "  Somebody's  strictures  in  the  New 
Orleans  Picayune  gave  me  many  thoughts.  I  may 
come  under  criticism  not  only  in  these  regards,  but  in 
others  concerning  which  there  may  not  have  been  ex- 
pression. I  sincerely  desire  to  be  a  true  and  a  growing 
Christian  woman.  Some  friends  can  hold  the  mirror 
to  our  faults." 

All  the  world  knows  how  her  soul  was  moved  that  the 
church  of  God  should  uphold  our  Christian  cause,  and 
that  the  M.  E.  Conference  should  seat  its  women  dele- 
gates. At  that  time  her  word  came  to  me :  "  If  the  M. 
E.  pastors  don't  endorse  our  blessed  gospel,  so  much  the 
worse  for  them — in  history,  that's  all !  '  This  train  is 
going  through ;  clear  the  track ! '  I  want  you  in  a  dele- 
gation to  the  General  Conference  in  May.  Will  Mrs. 
Bishop  Parker  allow  her  name  added?  It  is  a  blessed 
chance  to  put  a  blessed  name  to  a  most  blessed  use.  Oh 
that  he  may  see  this  for  the  sake  of  God  and  Home  and 
Humanity ! " 

Prances  Willard's  fearless  mind  threw  a  searchlight 
into  any  new  thought  that  seemed  worthy  of  exploration. 


150  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

She  investigated  Swedenborgianism,  Faith-healing, 
Psychic  and  Christian  Science — if  perchance  she  might 
find  the  soul  of  truth  which  is  ever  at  the  origin  of  all 
error.  She  was  not  afraid  of  the  evolution  of  man,  for 
she  early  realized  that  the  works  and  word  of  God  must 
harmonize ;  that  when  science  and  religion  should  better 
understand  themselves  and  each  other  there  could  be  no 
real  conflict, — and  she  joyed  in  this  larger  vision. 
After  a  visit  to  my  house,  in  1896,  she  wrote  thus  to 
Judge  Merrick :  "  Christ  and  His  gospel  are  loyally 
loved,  believed  in  and  cherished  by  me,  and  have  been 
all  along  the  years;  nor  do  I  feel  them  to  be  inconsist- 
ent with  avowing  one's  position  as  an  evolutionist: 
'When  the  mists  have  cleared  away,'  how  beautiful  it 
will  be  to  talk  of  the  laws  of  the  universe  in  our 
Father's  house,  and  to  find  again  there  those  whom  we 
have  loved  and  lost — awhile.  In  this  faith  I  am  ever 
yours. 

"  Frances  E.  Willard. 

It  is  scarcely  worth  while  to  say  that  she  often  was 
the  subject  of  the  doctrinaire.  At  one  time  a  noted 
advocate  of  the  faith  cure  was  her  guest,  and  was  using 
all  diligence  to  lead  Miss  Willard  to  embrace  her 
"  higher  life."  She  said  to  this  lady :  "  Come  with  me 
to-day  to  see  a  friend,  a  lovely  woman,  who  seems  to 
me  to  walk  the  higher  life  of  faith  in  great  beauty  and 
peace  and  power  for  others.  I  think  you  will  be  kin- 
dred spirits."  The  visit  was  made,  and  the  two 
strangers  fell  into  each  other's  arms,  as  it  were,  in  the 
intensity  of  their  spiritual  sympathy.     On  their  return 


Frances  Willard.  151 

to  Rest  Cottage,  Miss  Willard  quietly  said  to  her  guest : 
"  That  friend  is  one  of  the  most  noted  Christian  Science 
healers."  Now  this  was  the  chiefest  of  heterodoxies  to 
the  faith-healer.  "  How  I  did  enjoy  her  shocked 
astonishment/'  Miss  Willard  gleefully  said  to  me,,  "  and 
I  told  her  I  was  more  than  ever  sure  how  truly  one,  in 
the  depths  of  their  natures  and  their  essential  faiths,  are 
those  who  are  sincerely  seeking  to  know  God." 

Frances  Willard's  spiritual  life  was  too  overflowing 
and  comprehensive  to  find  expression  in  creeds.  Her 
own  new  beatitude,  "  Blessed  are  the  inclusive,  for  they 
shall  be  included,"  is  a  fair  statement  of  her  doctrine 
as  it  related  to  her  human  ties,  and  to  all  the  house- 
hold of  faith.  Her  whole  law  and  gospel  was  "  To  love 
the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart — and  thy  neighbor 
as  thyself:"  and  she  found  God  in  His  works  as  well 
as  in  His  Word,  and  His  image  in  every  beautiful  soul 
that  passed  her  way — and  always  her  spirit  ascended 
unto  the  Father.  She  herself  was  regenerate  by  love, 
and  she  expected  love  alone — enough  of  it — to  trans- 
form the  world.  She  wrote  me :  "  Be  it  known  unto 
thee  that  I  believe — and  always  did — that  the  fact  of 
life  predicts  the  fact  of  immortality.  Lonesome  would 
it  be  indeed  for  us  yonder  in  Paradise  were  not  the 
trees  and  flowers  and  birds  we  loved  alive,  once  more 
with  us  to  make  heaven  homelike  to  our  tender  hearts. 
How  rich  is  life  in  friendships,  opportunity,  loyalty, 
tenderness !  To  me  these  things  translate  themselves  in 
terms  of  Christ.  Perhaps  others  speak  oftener  of  Him, 
and  have  more  definite  conceptions  of  Him  as  an  entity ; 
but  in  the  wishful  sentiment  of  loyalty  and  a  sincere 


152  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

intention  of  a  life  that  shall  confess  Him  by  the  spirit 
of  its  deeds  I  believe  I  am  genuine." 

Just  after  the  Boston  World's  and  National  Conven- 
tions of  1891,  Lilian  Whiting — that  keen  analyzer  of 
motive  and  character — wrote :  "  Frances  Willard  is  a 
born  leader;  but  with  this  genius  for  direction  and 
leadership,  she  unites  another  quality  utterly  diverse 
from  leadership — that  of  the  most  impressionable,  the 
most  plastic,  the  most  sympathetic  and  responsive  per- 
son that  can  possibly  be  imagined.  Her  temperament 
is  as  delicately  susceptible  as  that  of  an  Aeolian  harp; 
one  can  hardly  think  in  her  presence  without  feeling 
that  she  intuitively  perceives  the  thought.  She  has  the 
clairvoyance  of  high  spirituality. 

"  No  woman  of  America  has  ever  done  so  remarkable 
a  work  as  that  being  done  by  Frances  Willard.  There  is 
no  question  of  the  fact  that  she  was  called  of  the  Lord 
to  consecrate  herself  to  this  work.  She  is  so  simple,  so 
modest,  so  eager  to  put  every  one  else  in  the  best  possible 
light,  so  utterly  forgetful  of  self,  that  it  requires  some 
attention  to  realize  her  vast  comprehensiveness  of  effort 
and  achievement.  If  ever  a  woman  were  in  touch  with 
the  heavenly  forces  it  is  she.  Frances  Willard  is  the 
most  remarkable  figure  of  her  age." 

Some  one  else  in  a  private  letter  writes :  "  Her 
strength  was  because  she  could  love  as  no  one  else  has 
loved  since  the  Son  of  Man  walked  the  earth." 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


SORROW  AND  SYMPATHY. 


Unwilling  to  be  separated  from  me,  Clara  proposed 
in  1882  that  she  and  her  two  children  should  spend  the 
summer  in  New  England.  Her  Uncle  William  had 
placed  his  furnished  house  at  our  disposal ;  so  Mr.  Mer- 
rick and  I  had  the  novel  experience  of  housekeeping  in 
the  land  of  the  Pilgrims.  We  had  the  social  pleasure 
of  entertaining  most  interesting  people,  among  them 
Miss  Lucretia  Noble,  the  author  of  "  A  Reverend  Idol." 

After  this  visit  Clara  wrote  a  critique  of  this  much- 
talked-of  book,  published  in  the  New  Orleans  Times- 
Democrat,  in  which  these  words  occur :  "  Miss  Noble 
reminds  one  forcibly  of  that  charming  woman — Gene- 
vieve Ward.  The  identity  of  the  '  Idol '  is  supposed  to 
be  established  in  the  character  of  the  worshiped  and 
worshipful  Phillips  Brooks."  Clara  had  at  times  been 
a  newspaper  contributor,  and  often  said  a  timely  word 
for  "the  Cause  that  needed  assistance.'''  She  had  ad- 
dressed an  open  letter,  just  before  leaving  the  city,  to 
Mr.  Paul  Tulane,  the  philanthropist  whose  monument 
is  Tulane  University,  urging  vainly  that  this  great  in- 
stitution should  be  co-educational  in  its  scope.  It  was 
said  of  her  that  while  her  intellect  and  style  were  ex- 

i53 


154  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

quisitely  womanly  they  possessed  firm  rationality  and 
searching  analytical  qualities. 

Eev.  W.  F.  Warren,  D.  D.,  president  of  Boston  Uni- 
versity, came  also  with  his  most  attractive  family  to 
Wilbraham.  The  friendship  and  love  of  his  wife,  Har- 
riet Cornelia  Merrick,  proved  a  source  of  great  comfort 
in  that  season  of  sorrow,  and  a  true  satisfaction  as  long 
as  she  lived.  Her  vigorous,  wholesome,  sympathetic 
nature  was  one  on  which  everybody  was  willing  to  ease 
off  their  own  burdens.  Her  intellectual  abilities  ranked 
high,  for  she  had  acquired  the  culture  of  seven  years 
spent  in  Europe.  She  was  widely  known  for  twenty- 
four  years,  as  the  editor  of  the  Heathen  Woman's 
Friend — the  organ  of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Mission- 
ary Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  She 
was  an  artist  in  music  and  a  master  of  the  French,  Ger- 
man and  Italian  languages.  A  friend  in  Germany  said : 
"Her  German  is  perfect.  She  is  never  taken  for  an 
American;  for  does  she  not  possess  all  the  virtues  of  a 
German  housewife?  Does  she  not  dearly  love  to  fill 
her  chest  with  fine  linen,  and  take  the  best  care  of  her 
household  ?  And  then  she  cultivates  her  flowers,  makes 
fine  embroideries,  and  last  is  a  good  knitter.  She  can- 
not be  an  American  lady ! "  Yet  she  was  a  model 
mother  after  the  American  ideal ;  besides  being  a  trustee 
of  the  New  England  Conservatory  of  Music,  and  a  lead- 
ing officer  of  numerous  other  boards.  She  had  a  breezy 
fashion  of  conversation,  a  fascinating  smile,  a  cheery 
word,  a  fun-sparkling  eye  and  bright  hair  waving  pret- 
tily from  a  broad  brow.  When  I  confided  to  her  the 
fact  of  my  daughter's  threatened  life  by  a  latent  disease, 


Sorrow  and  Sympathy.  155 

she  gave  such  heartful  sympathy  that  I  have  never 
ceased  to  be  grateful,  and  shed  many  tears  when  she  too 
was  called  away. 

I  needed  a  close  friend  this  sad  summer,  for  though 
my  daughter  was  not  in  usual  health  when  we  left  home, 
none  knew  of  the  presence  of  a  fatal  malady.  After  a 
physician  from  Springfield  had  told  us  that  she  might 
survive  a  year  in  a  warmer  climate,  it  was  difficult  to 
keep  strong  enough  to  show  her  a  cheerful  face ;  but  the 
medical  orders  were  that  Clara  should  not  be  informed 
of  her  own  danger  if  we  expected  to  take  her  home 
alive.  I  telegraphed  for  Mr.  Guthrie.  When  he  ar- 
rived and  saw  her  looking  as  usual,  sitting  by  an  open 
window,  bright,  and  beautifully  dressed,  he  sent  an  im- 
mediate message  to  New  Orleans  allaying  anxiety.  But 
it  was  soon  evident  that  she  had  entered  upon  the  be- 
ginning of  the  end.  She  drove  out  every  day  and  did 
not  suffer:  and  we  found  her  serenely  conscious  of  her 
own  condition.  She  said :  "  It  is  all  right,  if  I  die.  I 
have  been  as  happy  as  opportunities,  and  kindness,  and 
attentions,  and  love  can  make  a  human  being.  It  is 
beautiful  to  die  here  in  Wilbraham  where  every  one  is 
so  kind."  Every  day  she  was  bright  and  cheerful,  and 
looked  her  own  sweet  self.  One  day  her  father  assisted 
her  into  the  carriage,  and  I  knew  it  was  for  her  a  last 
drive.  Though  almost  prostrated  with  grief,  I  was  able 
to  welcome  her  cheerfully  when  she  returned.  The 
next  morning  she  got  up  as  usual,  and  calling  for  her 
children,  took  a  tender  leave  of  all  of  us.  "Don't 
grieve,  mother  dear,  don't ! "  she  said ;  "I  am  safe  in 
God's  keeping." 


156  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

"  Oh,  my  child,  what  can  I  do  without  you !  "  I  cried. 
"  Do  as  other  bereaved  mothers  have  done  and  bear  it 
bravely !  and  you  will  have  both  my  little  children  to 
rear;  they  are  yours."  When  at  the  last  she  fixed  her 
beautiful  eyes  on  me  and  said :  "  My  mother ! "  her 
earthly  word  was  silenced,  her  life-work  done. 

I  find  that  I  wrote  thus  to  a  dear  friend  at  that  time : 
"  Here  I  am — sitting  in  the  chamber  of  my  dead.  The 
Marthas  and  the  Marys  are  here  doing  according  to 
their  natures.  Mary  sits  in  the  quiet  with  me,  Martha 
writes  of  our  loss  to  the  absent,  or  prepares  dinner. 
God  help  us !  the  business  of  life  must  go  on  even  in 
the  presence  of  death.  My  Clara  lies  on  the  lounge, 
wrapped  in  white  cashmere,  so  still — so  cold; — and 
this  is  the  last  day  she  can  so  lie  before  she  is  buried 
from  my  sight.  The  wind  blows  cool,  as  often  in  a  New 
England  August,  but  it  drives  pangs  into  my  sore  heart, 
and  the  day  seems  different  from  any  other  day  of  my 
life.  Why  does  God  leave  us  at  such  times  set  apart 
to  suffer,  as  on  some  eminence?  The  people  pity  us. 
Her  father  says  the  time  is  short  and  we  shall  soon  go 
to  her.  Yes — and  then  the  air  and  the  sunshine  will 
take  on  a  new  nature  for  some  one  else — for  our  sakes. 
But  it  is  different  to  lay  old  frames  in  the  dust  from 
putting  under  the  daisies'  bed  the  young  in  their  glo- 
rious prime.  God  knows  best.  It  may  be  that  she  is 
taken  from  evil  to  come.  She  lived  happily,  and  has 
laid  down  all  of  earth  bravely  to  go  into  the  other  life. 

"  The  students  stop  in  passing,  and  seeing  our  mourn- 
ing door  ask,  '  Who  is  dead  ? '  My  dead  is  nothing  to 
them.     They  never  saw  Clara — nor  me.     It  is  only  an 


Sorrow  and  Sympathy.  157 

idle  question.  We  are  only  two  atoms  among  earth's 
millions.  0  Lord,  forget  not  these  particles  in  Thy 
universe, — for  we  are  being  tossed  to  and  fro, — and 
bring  us  to  a  resting  place  somewhere  in  Thy  eternal 
kingdom ! 

"  I  know  the  world  must  still  go  on,  though  it  is 
stationary  for  me,  and  I  am  honestly  trying  to  have 
patience  with  its  cheerful  progress;  but  even  the  play- 
fulness of  my  two  motherless  little  ones  jars  upon  me. 
It  is  useless  for  me  to  try  to  realize  human  sympathy 
from  the  lonely  height  where  I  sit  and  weep  over  the 
untimely  death  of  my  two  beautiful  daughters.  They 
were  God-given,  and  my  very  own  by  ties  of  blood,  but 
more  by  that  happy  responsiveness  of  soul  which  consti- 
tutes '  born  friends.'  After  being  as  the  woman  whose 
children  rise  up  and  call  her  blessed,  I  am  now  like 
Rachel  of  old,  refusing  to  be  comforted  because  they 
are  not.  I  lie  down  in  humble  submission  because  I 
cannot  help  myself.  I  say  over  and  over,  '  Thy  will 
be  done ! ' — but  all  the  same  I  would  have  them  back 
if  I  could.  None  of  us  try  to  raise  a  controversy  with 
the  inevitable.  We  are  grateful  for  kind  words  and 
sympathy.  They  cannot  change  anything,  but  they  give 
just  a  drop  of  comfort  to  a  desolate,  disrupted  life  on 
the  human  side  of  that  gateway,  through  which  the  ma- 
jority have  gone  down  into  the  silence  where  'the  dead 
praise  not  the  Lord.'  " 

Many  testimonies  to  the  character  and  worth  of  our 
child  were  written  and  published.  They  shall  speak 
for  her  and  for  the  greatness  of  our  loss.  The  Times- 
Democrat  said:  "Wherever  she  moved  she  was  by  the 


158  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

necessities  of  her  sweet  nature  a  '  bright,  particular 
star'  among  earth's  shining  ones.  Her  conversation 
was  a  delight  to  all  within  sound  of  her  voice.  Her  wit 
was  gentle,  pure,  generous  and  sincere.  She  ruled  all 
hearts,  and  loved  to  rule,  for  she  ruled  by  love." 

Catharine  Cole  wrote:  "  M>any  men  and  women  famous 
in  the  great  world  of  art  and  literature  will  pay  the 
sweet  tribute  of  tears  to  the  memory  of  this  lovely 
woman;  and  here  in  our  own  home,  where  she  was  so 
beloved  and  admired,  her  gentle,  cheery  presence  will 
be  missed  and  mourned  for  many  sad  days.  She  shone 
like  a  jewel  set  amid  dross." 

From  Mrs.  Mollie  Moore  Davis — widely  known  for 
her  exquisitely  delicate  love  poems  and  quaint  tales  of 
real  life — came  this  tender  word :  "  I  truly  appreciated 
her  great  gifts  and  greater  loveliness.  She  is  a  star 
gone  from  my  sky." 

Mrs.  Mary  Ashley  Townsend  sent  me  these  words: 
"  Her  constant  and  determined  intellectual  develop- 
ment, her  devotion  to  progress,  her  literary  tastes,  her 
social  charms,  her  reliability  as  a  friend,  her  loveliness 
as  a  wife  and  mother,  formed  a  combination  of  qualities 
that  made  her  the  realization  of  the  poet's  dream, 

"  '  Fair  as  a  star  when  only  one 
Is  shining  in  the  sky.'  " 

Mrs.  Townsend  is  herself  a  rarely  gifted  poet,  long 
and  deeply  homed  in  the  heart  of  New  Orleans.  With 
the  exception  of  Longfellow  and  Cable,  no  writer  has 
so  vividly  mirrored  the  very  atmosphere  of  lower  Louis- 
iana.    In  "  Down  the  Bayou  "  its  "  heroed  past,"  its 


Sorrow  and  Sympathy.  159 

shrined  memories  find  an  eloquent  voice;  there  in  ever- 
lasting tints  are  painted  its  dank  luxuriance  and  verdant 
solitudes ;  its  red-tiled  roofs  and  stucco  walls,  the  "  mud- 
built  towers  of  castled  cray-fish,"  its  sluggish,  sinuous 
bayoux  and  secrets  of  lily-laden  lagoons,  its  odors  of 
orange  bloom  and  mossy  swamps  mingled  with  flute- 
toned  song  and  flitting  color  amid  the  solemn,  dark-hued 
live-oaks.  Mary  Ashley  Townsend  had  three  lovely 
daughters.  One  has  passed  over  the  river,  but  she  still 
has  Adele,  who  resembles  her  gifted  mother,  and  Daisy, 
to  comfort  her  life. 

James  E.  Randall,  the  gifted  author  of  "  My  Mary- 
land," said  in  his  own  newspaper :  "  She  was  too  ra- 
diantly dowered  for  this  world  she  glorified.  She  was 
all  that  poets  have  sung  and  men  have  wished  daughter 
and  wife  to  be.  Well  may  the  bereaved  father  and  hus- 
band wonder  with  poor  Lear  '  why  so  many  mean  things 
live  while  she  has  ceased  to  be.' "  Other  expressions  were 
as  follows :  "  It  is  something  worth  living  for,  to  have 
been  the  mother  of  such  a  being."  "  Outside  of  your 
mother-love  the  loss  of  the  sweet  friendship  and  con- 
geniality of  your  lives  will  create  an  awful  void.  But 
that  beautiful  soul  is  yours  still — growing  and  develop- 
ing in  Paradise."  "  Amid  all  her  charms  what  im- 
pressed me  most  was  her  admiration  for  her  mother. 
She  addressed  you  often  and  fondly  as  c  dear/  as  if  you 
were  the  child  and  she  the  mother."  "  Centuries  of  ex- 
perience have  not  developed  a  philosophy  deeper  or  more 
comforting  for  the  human  race  than  that  of  David: 
'  He  shall  not  Teturn  to  me  but  I  shall  go  to  him.'  I 
thank  God  for  the  great  gift  of  death ! " 


160  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

A  minister  of  God  wrote  me,  from  Worcester,  Mass., 
a  word  that  may  be  as  great  a  light  to  some  sitting  in 
darkness  as  it  was  to  me :  "I  must  confess  that,  for  my 
own  part,  I  take  such  sorrows  with  less  heaviness  of 
heart  than  once,  for  the  reason  that  every  such  loss  seems 
to  strengthen,  rather  than  weaken,  my  faith  in  immortal- 
ity. In  good  and  beautiful  lives  I  see  so  vividly  a  reve- 
lation of  God — the  Infinite  Holiness  and  Beauty  shin- 
ing through  the  human  soul  and  the  raiment  of  clay — 
that  I  cannot  believe  it  possible  for  death  to  extinguish 
their  real  life  '  hidden  with  Christ  in  God.'  I  cannot 
believe  that  they  can  be  'holden  of  the  grave.'  I  feel 
assured  that  theirs  is  a  conscious  life  of  progress  and 
joy,  and  cannot  mourn  for  them  as  dead,  but  only  as  far 
away.  More  and  more  am  I  convinced  that  this  vivid 
feeling  of  the  Divine  Presence  in  beautiful  human  lives 
is  peculiarly  the  Christians  ground  of  hope  in  immor- 
tality. It  was  what  the  apostle  meant  by  '  Christ  in  you, 
the  hope  of  glory,'  and  it  gives  us  gradually  the  clear 
vision  of  an  immortal  world.  Only  thus,  as  we  gain 
that  '  knowledge  of  God '  which  is  '  eternal  life '  here 
and  now,  can  we  rise  above  the  mist  and  smoke  of  this 
temporal  world  and  lift  our  eyes  '  unto  the  hills  whence 
cometh  our  help.'  Only  thus  as  we  live  in  the  eternal 
world,  here  and  now,  can  we  feel  secure  that  nothing 
fair  and  good  in  human  life  can  perish." 

Mrs.  Hannah  Whitehall  Smith  wrote  me  thus  from 
Philadelphia  the  sad  December  of  this  year : 

"  My  dear  Friend  : 

"  Miss  Willard  wants  to  open  the  lines  between  your 


Sorrow  and  Sympathy.  161 

soul  and  mine.  She  feels  sure  we  can  do  each  other 
good,  and  asks  me  to  tell  you  about  my  Bay  who  went 
home  three  years  ago,  because  you,  too,  have  lost  a 
daughter  and  will  understand.  My  Eay  died  after  five 
days'  sickness.  As  soon  as  she  was  taken  ill,  I  began, 
as  my  custom  is,  to  say,  '  Thy  will  be  done.'  I  said  it 
over  and  over  constantly,  and  permitted  no  other 
thought  to  enter  my  mind.  I  hid  myself  and  my  child 
in  the  fortress  of  God's  blessed  will, — and  there  I  met 
my  sorrow  and  loss.  When  she  went  out  of  my  earthly 
life  the  peace  of  God  which  passes  all  understanding 
came  down  upon  me  from  above,  and  enwrapped  me  in 
aii  impregnable  hiding-place,  where  I  have  been  hidden 
ever  since.  My  windows  look  out  only  on  the  unseen 
and  divine  side  of  things;  and  I  see  my  child  in  the 
presence  of  God,  at  rest  forever,  free  from  all  earth's 
trials.  Whatever  may  be  your  experience  I  know  that 
grief  is  bitter  anguish  under  any  other  conditions  than 
these,  and  the  mystery  of  it  is  crushing. 

"  Our  blessed  Frances  gave  me  your  letter  to  read, 
and  I  could  echo  every  word  you  said  about  her.  She 
is  queen  among  women  and  is  doing  a  glorious  work, 
not  the  least  of  which  is  the  emancipation  of  women — 
coming  out  on  every  side.  They  have  far  more  than 
they  know  for  which  to  thank  Frances  Willard." 

To  that  letter  I  replied :  "  If  the  Heavenly  Father 
takes  note  of  the  sparrow's  fall,  it  may  be  that  He  put 
the  thought  in  Miss  Willard's  mind  to  ask  you  to  help 
me;  but,  dear  lady,  you  are  many  a  day's  journey  ahead 
of  me  in  religious  experience  when,  in  the  presence  of 


162  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

the  death  of  your  beloved,  you  can  say,  '  Thy  will  be 
done.'  I  wish  I  could,  like  you,  will  whatever  God 
wills. 

"  I  thank  you  for  the  account  of  your  Ray,  and  I  thank 
God  that  He  created  such  a  Christian  mother.  Simeon 
said  to  Mary :  '  Yea,  a  sword  shall  pierce  through  thine 
own  soul  also.'  Every  one  who  has  lost  a  child  has  been 
pierced  through  and  through.  In  this  crisis  of  my  life 
I  am  amazed  and  stupefied  by  my  own  capacity  for  suf- 
fering, and  actually  look  upon  myself  with  an  awed 
pity,  as  I  would  upon  a  stranger.  How  can  I  yield 
everything?  I  had  already  buried  one  lovely  daughter 
in  the  bloom  of  life ;  and  I  had  only  one  left.  I  submit 
because  I  must.  My  heart  cries  out  for  my  child;  God 
forgive  me,  but  I  would  call  her  back  to  me  if  I  could." 

When  the  time  drew  near  for  the  annual  convention 
of  the  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union,  my  hus- 
band and  sons  urged  that  I  should  go  to  Detroit,  hoping 
the  change  of  scene  and  new  responsibilities  might 
arouse  me  from  depression.  Miss  Willard  had  already 
written :  "  My  heart  turns  toward  thee  in  thy  desola- 
tion. Remember  thou  hast  doting  sisters.  I  believe 
thy  beautiful  Clara  knows  how  we  rally  to  thy  side,  and 
is  glad." 

While  I  was  in  Detroit,  Hannah  Whitehall  Smith 
called  upon  me  several  times,  and  talked  about  my  con- 
dition of  mind,  and  so  inspired  me  with  gratitude  that 
I  endeavored  to  obey  every  suggestion  she  made,  regard- 
less of  the  pride  and  self-sufficiency  which  is  so  com- 
mon with  unsatisfied  souls.  She  seemed  to  have  direct 
access  to  the  Heavenly  Father,  and  laid  my  case  before 


Sorrow  and  Sympathy.  163 

Him  with  such  simplicity  and  faith  that  my  heart  was 
deeply  touched,  and  I  gained  a  new  knowledge  of  spirit- 
ual relations.  When  I  learned  in  these  latter  days,  that 
she  had  been  called  to  sorrow  over  her  husband  "gone 
before/"'  I  wrote  to  her  in  loving  memory  of  her  former 
goodness,  and  received  a  reply,  from  Eastnor  Castle, 
where  she  and  Lady  Henry  Somerset  had  been  engaged 
in  preparing  a  memorial  of  Miss  Willard,  which  was 
issued  to  the  people  of  Great  Britain. 

The  letter  reads :  "  Your  loving  sympathy  in  my  last 
great  loss  has  been  most  welcome.  My  dear  husband 
had  been  a  great  sufferer  for  eighteen  months,  and 
longed  so  eagerly  to  go  that  no  one  who  loved  him  could 
be  anything  but  thankful  when  his  release  came.  I 
have  been  enabled  to  rejoice  in  his  joy  of  having  entered 
into  the  presence  of  the  King.  It  cannot  be  long  for 
me  at  the  longest  before  I  shall  join  him,  and  until 
then  I  am  hidden  in  the  Divine  fortress  of  God's  love 
and  care.  I  love  to  think  that  you  too  are  hidden  there, 
dear  friend  and  sister,  and  that  together  we  may  meet 
in  the  Divine  Presence  where  there  is  fulness  of  joy 
even  in  the  midst  of  earthly  sorrow. 

"  Lady  Henry  joins  me  in  love  to  you.  She  is,  as 
we  are,  very  sorry  over  the  loss  of  our  beloved  Prances 
Willard;  but  God  still  lives  and  reigns,  and  in  Him  we 
can  rest  without  anxiety.  I  have  found  Him  a  very 
present  help  in  many  a  time  of  trouble,  and  I  rejoice 
to  know  I  was  permitted  to  help  you  realize  this  in  your 
hour  of  sore  need." 


CHAPTER  XV. 

BECKY    SPEAKS    UP    IN    MEETING    IN    THE    INTERESTS    OF 
MORALITY. 

The  incidents  which  once  enlivened  the  lives  of  every 
family  that  was  served  by  the  negro  slave  are  fading 
from  the  minds  of  even  many  who  were  centers  of  those 
episodes.  But  they  are  of  legendary  interest  to  the 
younger  generations.  There  are  some  things  to  be  re- 
gretted in  the  negro  being  poured  into  the  mold  of  the 
white  man's  education.  The  only  true  national  music 
in  the  United  States  is  that  known  as  "  the  negro  mel- 
ody." Will  not  so-called  musical  "  cultivation "  tend 
to  destroy  the  charmingly  distinctive  character  of  the 
negro's  music?  Art  cannot  supply  or  enhance  the 
quality  of  his  genius.  It  will  be  a  definite  loss  if  the 
music  of  the  future  shall  lack  the  individualism  of  his 
songs,  for  with  them  will  go  the  wonderful  power  of 
improvisation — the  relic  of  his  unfettered  imagination, 
the  voices  of  his  native  jungles  struggling  to  translate 
themselves  into  speech.  His  happy  insouciance  is  al- 
ready fleeing  before  the  pressure  of  his  growing  re- 
sponsibilities. Very  much  that  constitutes  the  pictur- 
esque and  lovable  in  negro  character  will  disappear 
with  the  negro  point  of  view, — for  if  he  survives  in  this 

civilization   his   point   of   view  must  merge   into   the 
164 


Becky  Speaks  Up  in  Meeting.        165 

Anglo-Saxon's.  Only  those  who  were  "  to  the  manor 
born "  can  deftly  interpret  the  idiosyncrasies  of  the 
plantation  negro ;  so,  while  a  few  of  us  who  owned  them 
are  yet  alive,  it  may  be  a  service  to  the  future,  as  well  as 
our  duty  and  pleasure,  to  link  their  race  peculiarities  to 
the  yet  unborn,  by  revealing  and  embalming  them 
through  the  garrulous  pen.  Becky  Coleman's  gifts  as 
a  raconteuse  deserve  a  record.  It  delights  me  to  re- 
member her  as  I  sat  one  day  at  the  door  of  the  porch 
facing  the  wide  river  and  the  public  road.  Near  by, 
through  a  path  in  the  grounds,  a  procession  of  colored 
people  passed  and  repassed  morning  and  evening,  with 
buckets  on  their  well-cushioned  heads,  to  the  cisterns 
of  water  in  the  rear  of  the  house.  Becky  came  along 
and  greeted  me  with  polite  cordiality.  I  invited  her  to 
stop  and  rest  awhile,  and  filled  her  tin  cup  with  iced 
lemonade  from  a  pitcher  standing  near. 

The  woman  seated  herself  on  the  steps,  set  down  her 
pail  beside  her  and  sipped  the  cool  beverage. 

"  Thanky,  ma'am,"  said  she.  "  I  feels  dat  clean 
down  in  my  foots.  It's  mighty  hot  fer  dis  time  er  year. 
Ole  Aunt  Mary  is  spendin'  to-day  at  my  house,  en  she 
hope  me  some,  hoin'  in  my  gyardin',  en  now  um  gwine 
to  bile  er  pot  0'  greens  and  stchew  some  greasy  butter 
beans  (fer  de  ole  'oman  don't  never  have  nothin'  but 
meat  en  brade  at  her  house),  en  den  she  mus'  finish 
gittin'  de  grass  en  weeds  outen  my  cabiges,  for  um 
bound  to  have  a  fall  gyardin',  en  ef  yo  wants  turnips,  en 
lettice,  en  redishes,  yo  knows  whar  to  fin'  em." 

Becky  lifted  the  lower  flounce  of  my  wrapper  and 
inspected  the  embroidery,  looking  at  me  sharply  from 


1 66  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

head  to  foot.  "  Dat's  a  mighty  purty  dress  yo  got  on, 
Miss  Carrie/'  said  she,  "yo  mus'  lem  me  have  it  when 
yo're  done  wid  it.     Won't  yo  promise  me  ?  " 

"  Now,  Becky,"  I  replied,  "  don't  ask  me  to  make 
a  promise  I  might  forget,  and  you  would  be  sure  to 
remember;  but  you  go  on  and  tell  me  about  your  pro- 
tracted meeting  at  the  Eoyal  Oak  Church  yesterday." 

Becky  squared  her  portly  person  into  a  comfortable 
position,  her  hand  on  her  hip,  and  with  complacency 
and  satisfaction  beaming  from  her  ebony  colored  face 
she  began : 

"Ya'as  em  I  wuz  dar;  I  was  bleeged  to  be  dar,  fer 
um  one  uv  de  stchowercl  sisters.  You  knows  we  dresses 
in  white  en  black.  I  had  on  dat  black  silk  dress  yo 
sont  me  las'  Chrimus.  Dat  is,  I  had  on  de  tail  uv  it, 
wid  er  white  sack  instead  of  er  bass,  en  I  jes'  let  yo  know 
nun  of  dese  niggers  roun'  here  can  beat  me  er  dressing 
when  I  gits  on  de  close  yo  gie  me.  I  had  er  starchy  big 
white  handkercher  tied  turbin  fashin  on  my  head,  en 
Miss  Lula's  big  breas'-pin  right  yeah "  (putting  her 
hand  to  her  throat),  "  en  I  tell  yo,  mun  ,  I  jes'  outlooked 
ennything  in  dat  house.  Yander  comes  Aunt  Loo,  an' 
I  bet  she'll  tell  yo  de  same.  'Twas  er  feas'  day — sacka- 
ment  day — en  all  de  stchowerd  sisters  was  er  settin' 
roun'  on  de  front  benches,  like  dey  does  dem  times,  en 
dar  wus  Sis'  Lizer  Wright,  who  wus  one  of  us,  all  dressed 
up  in  pure  white,  en  settin'  side  uv  her  was  Peter  Green, 
en  he  wus  fixed  up  too,  mitely,  even  down  to  new  shoes. 

"  Dey  hilt  pra'ar,  en  den  Bro'  Primus  Johnson  ris 
en  showed  er  piece  up  paper  'en  told  us  all  'twas  er 
license  fer  to  jine  Peter  Green  and  Lizer  Wright  in  de 


Becky  Speaks  Up  in  Meeting.        167 

holy  bonds  o'  mattermony ;  '  But,'  sez  he,  '  f  0'  I  go  any 
furder  I  want  de  bretherin  to  come  for'ard  en  speak  dey 
mines  on  de  subjick.' 

"  Well,  at  dat,  I  seed  er  good  many  nods  'en  winks 
er  passin'  'bout,  but  I  never  knowd  'zacly  whut  wus 
gwine  on  'till  one  of  de  elders  ris  'en  said  he  directed 
to  havin'  any  ceremony  said  over  dem  folks,  fer  Sis' 
Lizer's  fust  husband,  ole  Unk'  Jake,  wus  yit  er  livin', 
'ceppen  he  died  sence  I  lef  home  dis  mawin','  sez  he. 

"  His  'pinion  wus  dat  ef  de  deacorns  wan't  'lowed 
but  one  wife  'cordin'  to  Scriptur,  de  stchowerd  sisters 
mustn't  have  mor'n  one  man  at  de  same  time. 

"  Dat  fotch  Bro.  Primus  ter  his  feet,  en  he  tun 
roun'  to  de  sisters,  he  did,  en  'lowed  dat  dey  too  mought 
git  up  en  'brace  de  multitude,  en  gie  dur  unnerstandin' 
in  dis  case.  'Pon  dat,  Sis'  Anderson  ris,  en  sez  she, 
'  Dis  'oman  orten  be  casted  outen  de  church,  en  I  ain't 
afeard  to  say  so  pine  blank.'  I  tell  yer  she  was  in  fer 
raisen  uv  a  chune,  en  singin'  her  right  out  den  en  dar, 
wid  de  Elder  leadin'  of  her  ter  de  do,'  for  dat's  de  way 
dey  tu'ns  em  outen  de  church  over  here.  '  Fer/  sez 
she,  '  she's  bent  on  committen'  'dultery — ef  she  ain't 
done  it  befo' — en  its  gwine  clean  agin  whuts  in  dat  ar 
volum  on  dat  ar  table,'  en  she  p'inted  her  forefinger  to 
de  Bible  er  layin'  dar,  en  ses  she,  'We  cyant  'ford  to 
let  sich  doin's  as  dese  to  be  gwine  on  in  dis  heah 
'sciety.' 

"  Dey  all  sided  'long  Sis'  Andersen  mostly,  ceppen 
me.  I  wus  sorry  fer  de  'oman  a  settin'  dar  wid  her 
arms  hugged  up  on  her  breas'  like  a  pore  crimi'  al.  I 
wuz   mighty   sorry   fer   her.     So   when   Bro'    Primus 


i68  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

'quired  ef  ennybody  felt  able  ter  counterfeit  Sis'  An- 
dersen's evidence,  en  looked  all  roun',  en  nobody  sed 
nuthin,  when  he  axed  'em  agin  why,  on  dat  second  'peal, 
I  jes'  riz  up  en  tole  'em  I  knowed  dat  'oman  fo'  de  wah. 
To  be  shore  she  had  tuck  up  wid  old  Unk'  Jake  long 
'fo'  dat.  He  wus  er  ingeneer  in  a  big  saw-mill  on  de 
Tucker  place,  en  he  had  er  son  by  his  fust  wife,  killed 
in  de  wah.  He  wus  mighty  ole  when  I  fust  seed  him — 
he  oilers  wus  a  heap  too  ole  fer  Sis'  Lizer — but  fer  de 
las'  six  or  seben  year  de  ole  man's  done  failed  so  he 
ain't  no  service  to  nobody — morn  er  chile,  siz  I.  Bein' 
as  he  is,  sez  I,  widout  any  owner  fer  to  feed  en  clove  en 
fine  him  it  comes  powerful  hard  on  Sis'  Lizer  to  do  all, 
fer  I  tell  yer,  he's  des  like  er  chile,  only  wus,  fer  a  chile 
kin  he'p  himself  some,  but  Unk'  Jake  cayn't  do  er 
Gawd's  bit  fer  hisself,  nor  nobody  else." 

"  Is  he  too  feeble  to  walk  about  ?  "  I  asked. 

"Well,  ma'am,  in  'bout  er  hour,  he  mought  git  as 
fer  frum  here  as  yo  gyardin  gate  yander — hoppin'  long 
slow  on  his  stick." 

Becky  rose  and  very  perfectly  imitated  the  bowed 
figure  and  halting  gait  of  the  poor  old  negro.  Throw- 
ing down  the  stick  she  had  used,  she  resumed  her  seat 
and  her  subject,  saying ;  "  Sis'  Lizer  done  er  good  part 
by  dat  ole  man.  She  has  him  to  feed  wid  er  spoon, 
fer  his  han'  is  dat  shakey  dat  he  spills  everyt'ing  'fo  he 
gets  it  ter  his  mouf.  When  she  goes  ter  de  fiel'  she 
puts  er  baskit  er  co'n  by  him  so  he  kin  muse  hisself 
feedin'  de  chicken  en  ducks. 

"  Ole  folks,  yo  know,  eats  mighty  often,"  said  Becky, 
"en  den  he  mus'  be  fed  thru  de  night.     Ef  she  don't 


Becky  Speaks  Up  in  Meeting.        169 

git  up  en  gin  him  dat  cake  or  some  mush  en  milk,  why 
she  cayn't  sleep  fer  his  cryin' — jes'  like  er  chile." 

"  You  were  telling  me,  Becky,  what  occurred  at 
church;  suppose  you  go  on  with  that  story,"  said  I. 

"  Gawd  bless  yer  soul,  honey,  dat  wan't  no  story.  I 
wish  I  may  die  dis  minit  ef  I  didn't  tell  yo  de  Gawd's 
trufe.  Oh,  yas;  I  had  ris  en  wus  er  speakin'  up  fer 
de  'oman,  how  long  I  knowed  her  en  so  on,  en  den  I 

said "  she  spoke  louder,  rising  and  gesticulating: 

"  Brethren,  you  see  dat  grass  out  yander  en  dat  yaller 
spotted  dog  er  wallerin  roun'  on  it  ?  Well  den,  yo  sees 
it,  en  yo  sees  dat  steer  er  standin'  er  little  ways  off; 
now  dat  ox  would  be  eatin'  dat  grass  ef  he  warn't  driv 
away  by  de  dog.  Ole  Unk'  Jake  ain't  no  dog.  He  ain't 
dat  mean  en  low  down.  He  done  gie  Sis'  Lizer  er  paper 
signifyin'  his  cornsent  fer  her  to  take  'nother  pardner. 

"  Een  I  jes'  went  on — '  Bretherin,'  says  I,  '  nobody 
nee'nter  talk  'bout  no  'dultery  neither,  fer  yo  all  knows 
dere  want  no  lawful  marryin'  nohow  in  slave  times  en 
Eeb  times.  De  scan'lous  can't  be  no  wus  en  'tis.  Yo 
mus'  jes'  sider  dat  Sis'  Lizer  wants  ter  marry,  now  fer 
de  fust  time,  en  live  like  er  Christon  in  her  ole  days. 
Nobody  musn't  hender  her  in  de  doin'  of  er  right  t'ing, 
but  let  us  pray  fer  de  incomin'  uv  de  Sperit. 

"  We  mus'  feel  fer  one  another,  sez  I,  'en  none  de  res' 
kin  do  no  better'n  Sis'  Lizer.  De  Word  says  ef  yer 
right  arm  defend  yo,  cut  it  off,  en  ef  yer  right  eye  ain't 
right,  pull  it  out.  '  Bretherin,'  says  I,  '  dey  ain't  nothin' 
'tall  gin  dese  folks  bein'  jined  together  in  dat  ar  book 
dar,  nor  nowhares  else.' 

"  Brudder  Primus  'lowed,  he  did,  dat  Sis  Coleman 


170  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

had  thowed  mo'  light  on  de  case  dan  ennybody  else,  en 
perceeded  ter  ax  Peter  Green  ef  he  was  willin'  en  able 
to  help  Sis'  Lizer  take  keor  of  ole  Unk  Jake,  en  he 
signified  he  wus;  en  den  everybody  wus  satisfied  en  de 
ceremony  wus  said  over  'em  right  den  en  dar,  fo'  de 
preacher  tuk  his  tex'  en  preached  his  sarmont. 

"  But  dis  won't  do  me,"  said  Becky.  "  I  mus'  go  long 
en  put  on  my  dinner  'fo'  de  ole  man  come  'long  en 
holler  fer  his  vittles.  Grood-by,  Miss  Carrie,''  said  she, 
rising,  "  don't  yo  forgit  yo  promised  me  dat  dress  yo 
got  on.  I  wants  to  put  it  away  'ginst  I  die,  to  be 
berry'd  in.  Dat  'min's  me  dat  Aunt  Patsey's  sholey 
bad  off.     She  cayn't  las'  much  longer." 

"  You've  had  that  woman  dying  for  a  week,  Becky." 
"  No,  ma'am,  /  ain't  had  her  dyin'  !     It's  de  Lord ! 
If  'twas  me  diff'unt  people  would  die  fum  dem  dat  does 
die — I  tell  yer !  " 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

MRS.    JULIA    WARD    HOWE    AND    THE    BLESSED    COLORED 
PEOPLE. 

As  has  been  intimated,  I  became  president  of  the 
New  Orleans  W.  C.  T.  IT.  not  from  deep  conviction  of 
duty  on  the  temperance  question,  but  because  I  could 
not  resist  the  inspirations  of  Frances  Willard's  convic- 
tions. Once  in  the  work  I  gave  my  heart  and  my  con- 
science to  it  with  such  measure  of  success  that  in 
January,  1883,  a  State  convention  was  called  to  meet  in 
New  Orleans  in  the  hall  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Miss  Wil- 
lard  was  again  present,  and  was  my  guest.  Rev.  W.  C. 
Carter,  D.  D.,  pastor  of  Felicity  Street  M.  E.  Church 
South,  was  the  knightly  brother  who  stood  beside  us  in 
this  hour  when  we  were  without  reputation,  nobly  doing 
his  sworn  duty  as  a  soldier  of  the  Cross,  to  speak  the 
truth  and  defend  the  weak.  Miss  Willard  spoke  twice 
in  his  church.  At  a  table  where  a  number  of  dignitaries 
of  the  church  were  dining,  referring  to  this  event,  a 
friend  remarked  that  Dr.  Carter  had  said  the  only  time 
his  church  was  full  was  on  this  occasion  of  Miss  Wil- 
lard's address.  "No,"  the  doctoc  replied,  "I  did  not 
say  that.  I  said  the  first  time  it  was  full.  It  was  full 
again — but  she  filled  it !  " 

There  was  a  peculiar  fitness  in  the  time  of  Miss  Wil- 
171 


172      .    Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

lard's  early  visits  to  the  South.  Women  who  had  been 
fully  occupied  with  the  requirements  of  society  and  the 
responsibilities  of  a  dependency  of  slaves,  were  now 
tossed  to  and  fro  amidst  the  exigencies  and  bewilder- 
ments of  strange  and  for  the  most  part  painful  circum- 
stances, and  were  eager  that  new  adjustments  should 
relieve  the  strained  situation,  and  that  they  might  find 
out  what  to  do.  Frances  Willard  gave  to  many  of  them 
a  holy  purpose,  directing  it  into  broader  fields  of  spirit- 
ual and  philanthropic  culture  than  they  had  ever  known. 
For  the  local  and  denominational  she  substituted  the 
vision  of  humanity.  It  seemed  to  me  that  when  Miss 
Willard  and  Miss  Gordon  bravely  started  out  to  find  a 
new  country  they  discovered  Louisiana,  and  like  Colum- 
bus, they  set  up  a  religious  standard  and  prayed  over  it 
— and  organized  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  I  was  one  result  of  that 
voyage  of  discovery.  It  immersed  me  in  much  trouble, 
care  and  business — sometimes  it  seemed  as  if  I  had  more 
than  my  head  and  hands  could  hold — unused  was  I  to 
plans  and  work  and  burdens.  I  prayed  to  be  delivered 
from  too  much  care  unless  it  might  set  forward  the 
cause.  I  was  willing  "  to  spend  and  be  spent,"  but 
sometimes  I  felt  as  if  I  had  mistaken  my  calling.  I 
only  knew  that  I  was  on  the  right  road,  and  tried  to 
look  to  God  to  lead  me.  Doubts  might  come  to-morrow, 
but  to-day  I  trusted.  In  ten  years  I  saw  the  work  es- 
tablished in  most  of  the  chief  towns  of  the  State,  and 
many  men  and  women  afield  who  had  learned  the  doc- 
trine of  total  abstinence  for  the  individual  and  the 
gospel  of  prohibition  for  the  commonwealth. 

During  these  years  I  gathered  numerous  delightful 


Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe.  173 

associations  in  my  State  work  and  in  my  annual  attend- 
ance upon  the  conventions  of  the  National  W.  C.  T.  U. 
Among  the  National  workers  who  aided  me  greatly  in 
my  early  work  was  Mrs.  Judith  Ellen  Foster  who,  with 
her  husband,  was  for  a  week  my  guest,  and  spoke  in 
crowded  churches.  Although  I  did  not  wholly  sympa- 
thize with  her  when  later  she  withdrew  from  the  Na- 
tional W.  C.  T.  IT.,  our  friendly  personal  relations  were 
never  broken.  Her  brilliant  abilities  as  a  temperance 
worker  and  as  a  pioneer  woman-member  of  the  bar  com- 
manded my  respect,  and  I  have  not  ceased  to  be  grateful 
for  the  sustaining  power  of  her  inspirations  and  acts. 
For  the  first  time  in  my  life,  at  one  of  her  meetings  in 
New  Orleans,  I  sat  in  a  pulpit — where  Bishops  Newman 
and  Simpson  had  officiated — and  very  peculiar  were  my 
feelings  in  such  a  place. 

Besides  Mrs.  Foster,  Mrs.  Mary  T.  Lathrop,  Mrs. 
Clara  C.  Hoffman  and  Mrs.  Hannah  Whitehall  Smith 
from  National  ranks  did  much  to  create  sentiment  for 
our  cause  in  Louisiana.  No  speaker  in  America  has 
excelled  Mrs.  Lathrop  in  the  vigor  and  the  statesman- 
like majesty  of  her  arguments  for  the  dethronement  of 
the  liquor  traffic.  A  distinguished  judge,  who  was  not 
in  favor  of  our  propaganda,  said  there  were  few  men  in 
Congress  who  had  equalled  her  in  logic  and  eloquence. 
We  mourn  yet  that  in  her  death  the  world  has  lost  so 
much  that  time  can  never  replace. 

One  of  the  greatest  victories  won  for  our  cause  was 
the  passage  in  1888  of  a  Scientific  Temperance  Instruc- 
tion bill,  by  the  State  Legislature,  for  the  education  of 
the  youth  in  the  public  schools,  on  the  nature  of  alcohol 


174  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

and  its  effect  upon  the  human  system.  Mrs.  Mary  Hunt 
of  Massachusetts,  the  originator  of  this  movement  for 
the  safeguard  of  health  against  the  seductions  and  de- 
structions of  strong  drink  and  narcotics,  spent  a  month 
at  our  legislature  as  the  guest  of  Mrs.  Mary  Eeade 
Goodale.  Daily  I  went  with  these  two  indefatigable 
workers,  watched  and  manceuvered  the  progress  of  this 
bill,  until  one  of  the  best  statutes  passed  on  this  subject 
by  any  State  was  secured.  Such  a  work  for  the  world's 
glory  is  enough  for  any  mortal,  but  we  trust  it  has  also 
placed  Mrs.  Hunt  among  the  immortals  of  earthly 
fame. 

I  visited  the  Capital  at  this  time  and  was  active  in  the 
lobby,  interviewing  members.  I  sent  my  card  to  a 
Senator  Gage,  and  was  more  than  surprised  when  in  re- 
sponse a  tall,  dignified  black  man  presented  himself. 
It  was  difficult  for  a  moment  to  determine  whether  to 
make  him  stand  during  the  interview,  as  is  usual  with 
his  color,  but  I  said :  "  Senator  Gage :  The  people  have 
put  you  in  this  respectable  and  responsible  position,  and 
as  other  senators  have  occupied  this  chair  will  you 
please  be  seated  ?  "  He  sat  down,  and  he  afterward 
voted  for  our  bill. 

After  this  social  intercourse  with  Mrs.  Hunt  and 
Mrs.  Goodale  great  impetus  was  given  to  the  work  in 
Louisiana  by  the  establishment  of  a  W.  C.  T.  U.  booth 
at  the  World's  Exposition  in  New  Orleans  in  the  year 
1885.  It  was  artistically  decorated  and  made  as  attrac- 
tive as  ingenuity  could  devise.  Here  the  world's  great 
lights  in  the  temperance  cause  were  to  be  heard  daily — 
in  pulpits   and   other  public   places  in  the   city.     In 


Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe.  175 

addition  to  Miss  Willard,  Mrs.  Lathrop,  Mrs.  Matilda 
B.  Carse,  Mrs.  Caroline  Buel,  Mary  Allen  West,  Mrs.  Jose- 
phine Nichols,  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Leavitt,  Mrs.  Sallie  F. 
Chapin  of  the  National  Guard,  there  were  present  from 
State  work,  Mrs.  Lide  Merriwether  of  Tennessee,  Mrs. 
I.  C.  de  Veiling  of  Massachusetts,  Mrs.  J.  B.  Hohbs  and 
Mrs.  Lucian  Hagans  of  Illinois,  Mrs.  M.  M.  Snell  of 
Mississippi,  and  many  others.  Our  Louisiana  Prohibi- 
tion militia  were  in  force  all  the  time,  and  we  had  the 
pleasure  and  assistance  of  such  brotherly  giants  of  the 
temperance  reform  as  Geo.  W.  Bain,  I.  N.  Stearn,  presi- 
dent of  National  Temperance  Society,  Jno.  P.  St. 
Johns,  Hon.  E.  H.  McDonald  of  California,  Rev.  C. 
H.  Mead,  A.  A.  Hopkins,  and  hosts  of  other  loyal  breth- 
ren who  burnished  our  faith  and  fired  our  zeal. 

Miss  Willard  in  the  Union  Signal  of  this  date  said: 
'"'Mrs.  Merrick  speaks  of  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  Booth  as  a 
'  tabernacle.'  I  consult  Webster  and  find  that  a  taber- 
nacle is  '  a  place  in  which  some  holy  or  precious  thing 
is  deposited.'  Aye,  the  definition  fits.  Our  hearts  are 
there,  our  holy  cause,  our  blessed  bonds.  Again,  it  is 
a  '  reliquary,'  says  the  redoubtable  Noah,  '  a  place  for 
the  preservation  of  relics.'  Yea,  verily.  The  women 
of  Israel  never  turned  over  their  relics  more  keenly  than 
have  W.  C.  T.  U.  women  rifled  their  jewelry  boxes  for 
the  '  Souvenir  Fund,'  which  has  gone  into  the  Taber- 
nacle. It  is  '  a  niche '  too  '  for  the  image  of  a  saint.' 
Accurate  to  a  nicety.  Heaven  keeps  a  niche  to  hold  our 
treasures,  and  so  does  the  World's  Exposition.  Our 
saints  are  there  in  person  and  in  spirit — the  right  hand 
of  our  power." 


176  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe  had  been  called  by  the  Expo- 
sition management  to  preside  over  the  Woman's  Depart- 
ment. There  was  much  criticism  of  the  authorities  that 
this  honor  had  not  been  given  to  a  Southern  woman; 
notwithstanding  that  this  world-renowned  Bostonian 
was  not  a  stranger  to  our  people — they  fully  appreciated 
the  power  of  her  "  Battle  Hymn  of  the  Republic  " — it 
seemed  unnecessary  to  seek  so  far  for  a  head  of  the  Ex- 
hibit. If  Southern  women  could  create  it,  some  one 
of  them  was  surely  able  to  direct  it.  Mrs.  Howe  came 
and  performed  this  duty  with  marked  ability,  and  dis- 
played a  force  of  character  which  commanded  respect 
though  it  did  not  always  win  for  her  acquiescence  in 
her  decisions  or  affectionate  regard  from  all  her  col- 
leagues. I  myself  had  much  expense  to  incur,  and  re- 
ceived nothing,  and  individually  I  had  naught  special  to 
excite  my  gratitude,  though  from  the  first  I  was  willing 
to  welcome  this  distinguished  lady,  and  extend  to  her 
my  co-operation  and  hospitality.  My  subsequent  rela- 
tions to  her  though  transient  have  been  pleasant,  and 
doubtless  her  memory  of  her  Exposition  coadjutors 
matches  our  recollection  of  her  own  regal  self.  Miss 
Isabel  G-reely  was  her  secretary — a  very  useful  and  esti- 
mable woman. 

Some  interesting  exercises  took  place  during  one 
afternoon  of  the  Exposition.  Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe 
addressed  the  colored  people  in  a  gallery  devoted  to  their 
exhibit.  There  was  a  satisfactory  audience,  chiefly  of 
the  better  classes  of  the  race.  Mrs.  Howe  had  asked  me 
to  accompany  her,  and  when  I  assented  some  one  said: 
"  Well,  you   are   probably  the   only   Southern  woman 


Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe.  177 

here  who  would  risk  public  censure  by  speaking  to  a 
negro  assembly/'  Mrs.  Howe  told  them  how  their 
Northern  friends  had  labored  to  put  the  colored  people 
on  a  higher  plane  of  civilization,  and  how  Garrison  had 
been  dragged  about  the  streets  of  Boston  for  their  sake, 
and  urged  that  they  show  themselves  worthy  of  the 
great  anti-slavery  leaders  who  had  fought  their  battles. 
Her  address  was  extremely  well  received.  I  was  then 
invited  to  speak.  I  told  them :  "  The  first  kindly  face 
I  ever  looked  into  was  one  of  this  race  who  called  forth 
the  sympathy  of  the  world  in  their  days  of  bondage. 
Among  the  people  you  once  called  masters  you  have 
still  as  warm,  appreciative  friends  as  any  in  the  world. 
Some  of  us  were  nurtured  at  your  breasts,  and  most  of 
us  when  weaned  took  the  first  willing  spoonful  of  food 
from  your  gentle,  persuasive  hands;  and  when  our 
natural  protectors  cast  us  off  for  a  fault,  for  reproof, 
for  punishment,  you  always  took  us  up  and  comforted 
us.     Can  we  ever  forget  it  ? 

"  Have  you  not  borne  the  burdens  of  our  lives  through 
many  a  long  year?  When  troubles  came  did  you  not 
take  always  a  full  share?  Well  do  I  remember,  as  a 
little  child,  when  I  saw  my  beloved  mother  die  at  the 
old  plantation  home.  The  faithful  hands  from  the 
fields  assembled  around  the  door,  and  at  her  request 
Uncle  Caleb  Harris  knelt  by  her  bedside  and  prayed 
for  her  recovery — if  it  was  God's  will.  How  the  men 
and  women  and  children  wept !  And  after  she  was  laid 
in  the  earth  my  infant  brother,  six  months  old,  was 
given  entirely  to  the  care  of  Aunt  Eachel,  who  loved 
him  as  her  own  life  even  into  his  young  manhood,  and 
12 


178  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

to  the  day  of  her  death.  And  who  can  measure  your 
faithfulness  during  the  late  war  when  all  our  men  had 
gone  to  the  front  to  fight  for  their  country  ?  Your  pro- 
tection of  the  women  and  children  of  the  South  in  those 
years  of  privation  and  desolation;  your  cultivation  of 
our  fields  that  fed  us  and  our  army;  your  care  of  our 
soldier  boys  on  the  field  of  battle,  in  camp  and  hospital, 
and  the  tender  loyalty  with  which  you — often  alone — 
brought  home  their  dead  bodies  so  that  they  might  be 
laid  to  sleep  with  their  fathers,  has  bound  to  you  the 
hearts  of  those  who  once  owned  you,  in  undying  remem- 
brance and  love. 

"  I  do  not  ask  you  to  withhold  any  regard  you  may 
have  for  those  who  labored  to  make  you  free.  Be  as 
grateful  as  you  can  to  the  descendants  of  the  people  who 
first  brought  you  from  Africa — and  then  sold  you  l  down 
South '  when  your  labor  was  no  longer  profitable  to 
themselves.  But  remember,  now  you  are  free,  whenever 
you  count  up  your  friends  never  to  count  out  the 
women  of  the  South.  They  too  rejoice  in  your  eman- 
cipation and  have  no  grudges  about  it;  and  would  help 
you  to  march  with  the  world  in  education  and  true  prog- 
ress. As  we  have  together  mourned  our  dead  on  earth 
let  us  rejoice  together  in  all  the  great  resurrections  now 
and  hereafter."  At  the  close,  many  colored  people  with 
tearful  eyes  extended  a  friendly  hand,  and  Mrs.  Howe 
too  did  the  same. 

Hon.  E.  H.  McDonald,  the  California  philanthropist, 
had  been  my  guest  during  Exposition  days  and  had  won 
our  hearts  by  a  face  that  reflected  the  nobility  of  his 
deeds.     In  1890  he  sent  me  $150  to  be  used  for  prizes 


Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe.  179 

offered  in  the  public  schools  of  New  Orleans  for  the 
best  essays  written  on  temperance.  The  school  board 
and  Mr.  Easton,  the  able  superintendent,  accepted  the 
offer,  and  the  presentation  of  the  prizes  was  made  a 
great  public  occasion  in  an  assemblage  at  Grunewald 
Hall. 

There  was  a  small  contingent  of  Southern  women 
whose  platform  services  were  invaluable  to  me,  and 
whose  loving  sympathy  helped  me  over  many  otherwise 
rough  places.  The  first  of  these  was  Mrs.  Sallie  F. 
Chapin  of  South  Carolina.  Both  in  appearance  and 
speech  she  was  intense,  tragic,  and  pathetic. — Her 
fiery  eloquence  captured  the  imagination  and  dragooned 
convictions  in  battalions.  She  did  splendid  pioneer 
platform  services  as  superintendent  of  Southern  Work, 
which  place  she  filled  until  it  was  abolished  by  the 
National  Convention  of  1889,  at  the  request  of  the 
Southern  States,  because  the  existence  of  that  office 
misrepresented  them  in  their  organic  relations  to  the 
National  W.  C.  T.  IT.  and  had  a  trend  toward  violation 
of  a  platform  principle  against  sectionalism.  Mrs. 
Chapin  lived  and  died  an  "  unreconstructed  Ecbel." 
The  bogey  of  secession  of  the  Southern  States  from  the 
National  seemed  to  haunt  her  brain;  but  I  have  never 
been  able  to  discover  any  other  woman  who  believed  that 
such  a  phantom  existed;  it  must  have  been  but  a  queer 
instance  of  reflex  action  from  her  over-stimulated  South- 
ern sentiment.  Mrs.  Chapin  had  extraordinary  ability 
and  was  a  marvel  of  endurance  when  her  temperament 
is  taken  into  the  reckoning.  Her  heroic  service  deserves 
a  lasting  place  in  our  annals. 


180  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

Another  Southern  woman  of  large  brain  and  larger 
heart  who  helped  me  in  my  days  of  inexperience  was  Mrs. 
Mary  McGee  Snell  (now  Hall)  of  Mississippi.  Like 
the  war-horse  of  Scripture  she  scented  battle  afar  off 
and  gloried  in  combat.  She  was  never  so  happy  as  in 
the  heat  of  struggle.  Her  impetuous  nature  took  her 
into  all  sorts  of  unusual  situations,  and  she  did  not 
seem  to  be  out  of  place — as  did  many  other  delegates — 
when,  during  a  National  W.  C.  T.  U.  convention,  she 
was  seen  in  the  streets  of  Chicago  parading  at  the  head 
of  a  Salvation  Army  procession.  She  is  essentially  "  a 
soldier  of  the  Cross/'  and  has  carried  her  gifts  of  elo- 
quence and  the  most  vibrant,  persuasive  of  voices  into 
the  Evangelistic  department  of  our  National  organiza- 
tion. Her  love  of  rescuing  souls  has  kept  her  exclu- 
sively in  evangelistic  work;  in  her  power  as  a  gospel 
worker  she  is  a  Sam  Jones  and  D.  L.  Moody  boiled 
down. 

The  most  original  of  our  National  staff-workers  who 
came  to  my  rescue  was  another  full-blooded  Southerner 
— Miss  Frances  E.  Griffin  of  Alabama.  She  is  gifted 
with  an  inimitable  humor.  An  audience  room  is 
quickly  filled  when  it  is  known  that  she  is  to  be  the 
speaker  of  an  occasion.  Though  a  woman  of  presence 
and  dignity  and  a  manner  that  befits  the  best,  her  ap- 
pearance as  soon  as  she  speaks  a  word  is  a  promise  of 
fun,  and  her  audience  has  begun  to  laugh  before  the 
time.  Wit  of  tongue  is  rare  with  women,  but  Miss 
Griffin's  equals  in  quality  or  rank  the  best  of  our 
American  humorists.  At  the  same  time  that  she  en- 
livens the  seriousness  of  the  public  work  which  women 


Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe.  181 

have  in  hand,  she  is  an  intelligent  reformer  and  also 
a  true  woman  of  the  home — having  for  many  years  been 
the  responsible  bread-winner  of  her  family,  and  has 
reared  orphan  children. 

Miss  Belle  Kearney  was  too  young  during  my  term 
of  office  to  be  classed  with  the  workers  already  men- 
tioned, for  she  had  just  begun  to  consecrate  her  life  to 
the  service  of  humanity.  At  my  request  she  brought 
her  fresh  enthusiasm  and  great  gifts  to  organize  the 
Young  Woman's  Temperance  Union  of  Louisiana.  Re- 
peated and  most  effective  work  in  this  State  has  made 
Louisianians  feel  that  they  have  an  endearing  right  in 
this  Dixie-born-and-reared  young  woman;  nor  have 
they  less  pride  than  her  native  Mississippi  in  her  present 
national  fame  as  a  first-class  platform  speaker  and  pro- 
gressive reformer. 

Hindrances  and  heartaches,  however,  were  sandwiched 
between  our  helps  and  happiness  liberally  enough  to 
cause  us  to  realize  that  she — as  well  as  he — who  wins 
must  fight.  We  were  not  strong  swimmers  accustomed 
to  breast  the  waves  of  an  uneducated  public  disappoval ; 
but  we  knew  we  must  encounter  it  and  nerve  ourselves 
for  the  shock,  putting  ourselves  at  war  against  the 
liquor  traffic  and  its  political  allies.  Everywhere 
we  found  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  the  underpinning  (not 
one  would  have  dared  to  think  of  herself  as  a  "  pil- 
lar") of  the  church.  Very  many  of  them  had  in 
tow  the  whole  church  structure — missionary  societies, 
pastor's  salary,  the  choir,  the  parsonage,  and  the  debt 
on  the  church.  Most  of  them  were  mothers  too;  some, 
G-od  help  them !  sad-eyed  and  broken-hearted  because 


182  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

of  the  ravage  of  their  own  firesides  which  the  open 
saloon  had  caused.  We  read  our  Bibles  and  prayed.,  and 
the  word  of  the  Lord  came  to  us  that  the  mother-heart 
in  Christ's  people  must  protest  against  further  slaying 
of  the  innocents  at  the  open  doorways  of  the  dram 
shops ! 

"We  went  to  our  brethren  in  the  church  (to  whom  else 
should  we  go?)  with  the  Lord's  message.  Some  of 
them — not  the  dignitaries  usually,  but  the  humble- 
minded,  prayerful  men,  God  bless  them !  who  went 
about  their  work  unheralded — believed  our  report:  but 
it  was  too  hard  a  saying  for  the  many  that  God  ever 
spake  except  by  the  word  of  mouth  of  a  man.  They 
forgot  Anna  and  Deborah,  and  practically  sided  with 
the  "  higher  criticism "  respecting  the  errancy  of  the 
Scripture  in  its  statement  about  woman's  relation  to  the 
church.  And  so,  after  a  while,  I  said  at  one  of  our 
conventions  that  I  could  count  upon  one  hand  all  the 
ministers  in  New  Orleans  who  had  come  forward  to 
pray  over  one  of  our  meetings. 

We  had  to  defend  ourselves  on  the  charge  of  being 
Sabbath-breakers,  because  after  doing  the  Lord's  work 
six  days  in  the  week,  a  W.  C.  T.  U.  woman  was  said  to 
have  slept — "  rested,"  according  to  the  commandment — 
on  Sunday.  On  this  charge,  and  because  a  speaker  in 
returning  to  my  house  after  a  Sunday  address  took  a 
ride  in  the  last  half  hour  of  the  day  in  a  street-car,  a 
resolution  of  endorsement  of  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  failed 
to  pass  in  a  Louisiana  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  South,  and  we  were  cruelly  hurt  by 
the  tone  of  the  discussion. 


Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe.  183 

General  Conference  lifted  us  out  of  despair  by  noble 
resolutions  against  licensing  the  liquor  traffic,  and 
thereafter  clerical  dignitaries  broke  our  hearts  by  a  mas- 
terly inactivity — or  took  a  scourge  of  small  cords  and 
proceeded,  as  it  were,  to  drive  us  out  with  the  hue  and 
cry  of  "  women's  rights,"  lest,  should  a  woman  vote,  her 
natural  function  should  cease,  and  the  sound  of  the 
lullaby  and  sewing  machine  be  no  longer  heard  in  the 
land.  It  was  comical  sometimes  to  see  how  the  bishops 
and  politicians  moved  on  the  same  line  and  for  the  same 
reason.  But  like  some  of  our  good  bishops  of  slave- 
holding  times,  these  certainly  will  not  shine  with  lustre 
in  the  sky  of  history.  Humbler  ministerial  brethren 
endured  reproach  with  us  and  fought  our  battles;  then 
we  had  sometimes  the  sorrow  of  seeing  them  removed 
from  places  of  influence  to  obscure  points  in  the  service 
of  the  church.  At  last  we  and  they  tacitly  understood 
that  a  preacher  who  wrought  valiantly  for  prohibition 
jeoparded  his  "prospects.'"  So  it  came  that  some  who 
had  led  us  "  went  back  "  in  the  holy  cause,  and  "  stand- 
ing afar  off,"  justified  themselves,  saying,  "  I'm  as  good 
a  prohibitionist  as  you  are,  but  I'm  more  practical." 
Desperation  seizes  the  soul  of  women  in  reform  work 
when  a  preacher  or  politician  uses  the  word  "  practical" ; 
we  know  we  shall  get  his  "  sympathy "  but  never  his 
influence  or  his  vote.  And  the  diplomatic  brother  who 
has  to  explain  that  he  is  a  temperance  man,  may  hold 
clear  qualifications  for  a  citizenship  in  heaven,  but  is  of 
no  account  whatever  as  a  citizen  of  the  militant  king- 
dom of  God  on  earth,  that  must  fight  against  "  princi- 


184  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

palities  and  powers "  if  it  would  win  the  world  to  the 
principles  of  Christ. 

It  should  be  clearly  understood  that  the  legitimate 
work  of  the  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union  is  to 
close  the  open  saloon,  and  not,  as  many  mistake,  to  in- 
terfere with  personal  liberty  by  forcing  total  abstinence 
upon  the  individual.  The  members  of  the  organization 
in  the  interests  of  consistency  must  be  total  abstainers; 
and  because  science  pronounces  alcohol  a  poison  and  an 
active  peril  in  the  human  body,  a  vigorous  educational 
propaganda  is  kept  up  in  order  that  future  generations 
may  be  protected  by  knowledge  against  the  dangers  of  al- 
coholic drinks.  The  main  point  at  issue  is  that  the  State 
has  no  right  to  license  an  institution  which  is  a  cor- 
rupter of  public  morals  and  a  menace  to  social  life.  The 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  has  so  interpreted. 
It  is  the  sole  duty  of  the  State  to  protect  and  develop 
citizens;  to  protect  their  lives,  their  property^  their 
morals  and  their  rights;  to  develop  the  highest  t}^pe 
of  citizen  that  education  by  law  and  schoolhouse  can 
produce.  The  saloon  hazards  the  well-being  of  every 
citizen  that  is  born  to  a  State ;  it  annuls  the  work  of  the 
church  and  the  college;  it  disintegrates,  degrades  and 
destroys  family  life — the  unit  of  the  State ;  it  impover- 
ishes the  home,  pauperizes  the  child  and  debases  man- 
hood; it  fills  almshouses,  jails  and  insane  asylums;  it 
lays  the  burden  of  the  support  of  these  institutions 
on  the  State;  the  taxes  which  all  the  people  have  paid 
for  their  mutual  protection  and  development  are  un- 
righteously diverted  to  the  sustenance  of  the  victims  of 
the  saloon;  the  State  protects  a  small  class  of  citizens 


Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe.  185 

in  doing  injury  to  the  interests  of  all  other  classes.  For 
revenue,  and  for  revenue  only,  it  gives  a  right  and  a 
power  to  the  saloon  to  make  an  unending  army  of  crim- 
inals, paupers  and  lunatics  out  of  the  sons  and  daugh- 
ters which  every  mother  has  gone  down  into  the  shadow 
of  death  to  deliver  into  the  keeping  of  her  country. 

The  motherhood  of  the  enlightened  world  is  arousing 
against  this  treachery  of  the  commonwealth  to  her 
sacred  trust.  The  State  has  no  right  to  sell  her  sons 
even  unto  righteousness;  still  less  to  deliver  them  into 
the  bonds  of  iniquity  for  a  price.  It  is  incredible  that 
the  mother's  revolt  did  not  begin  long  ago,  for  even 
the  brute  will  fight  for  its  young.  But  now  they  have 
begun  to  understand  their  duty  and  their  power,  and 
"  so  long  as  boys  are  ruined  and  mothers  weep ;  so  long 
as  homes  are  wrecked  and  the  sob  of  unsheltered  chil- 
dren finds  the  ear  of  God;  so  long  as  the  Gospel  lets 
in  the  light  for  the  lost,  and  Christ  is  King,  there  will 
be  a  contest  on  the  temperance  question  until  victory. 
So  long  as  this  Christian  nation  sanctions  the  destruc- 
tion of  its  sons  for  revenue,  and  sets  on  a  legalized 
throne  '  that  sum  of  all  villainies,'  the  saloon ;  so  long 
as  f  the  wicked  are  justified  for  reward '  and  cities  are 
built  with  blood,  there  will  be  a  prohibition  issue,  and 
one  day  the  right  will  triumph." 


CHAPTEE  XVII. 

NERVOUS  PROSTRATION  AND  A  VENERABLE  COUSIN. 

I  once  heard  a  woman  say  that  she  had  lived  half  a 
lifetime  before  she  realized  that  the  commandments  were 
written  for  her.  In  a  vague  sort  of  way  she  had  appro- 
priated, "  Thou  shalt  not  steal/'  "  Thou  shalt  not  bear 
false  witness ;  "  but  she  did  not  intend  to  do  these  things 
— the  commandments  must  be  for  those  who  did.  Her 
dumb  amazement  may  be  imagined  on  hearing  a  venera- 
ble and  saintly  soul  state  that  she  was  so  grateful  to 
God  that  in  her  long  life  she  had  had  no  temptation  to 
be  a  Magdalen.  It  was  unthinkable  that  she  should 
have  had. 

But  the  stress  of  life  grew  to  agony ;  disappointments 
and  wrongs  heaped  upon  my  friend;  and  one  day  she 
stood  bare-souled  and  alone  before  God.  confronting  the 
commandment :  "  Thou  shalt  not  kill !  "  In  her  strug- 
gle back  to  the  Divine  she  learned  that  all  of  the  com- 
mandments were  written  for  her.  Ever  since,  her  heart 
has  been  pierced  with  tenderest  sympathy  for  every  man 
or  woman  who  has  fallen  before  temptation,  and  the 
despair  of  the  suicide  seems  her  own. 

Unvarying  good  health  and  steady  nerves  were  my 
inheritance,  and  my  husband's  fine,  calm  judgment 
helped  to  increase  my  nervous  vigor.  I  am  afraid  I 
186 


Nervous  Prostration.  187 

had  once  a  quiet  disdain  for  nervous  women,  and  was 
supercilious  towards  what  I  deemed  a  lack  of  moral 
fiber,  believing  that  with  it  health  conditions  would  not 
have  become  "  all  at  loose  ends."  But  a  time  came  when 
I  too  was  going  from  sofa  to  easy  chair,  and  dropping 
back  into  bed  limp  and  trembling ;  when  the  banging  of 
a  door  or  the  rustling  of  a  paper  "  set  me  wild ; "  when 
I  was  being  a  means  of  grace  to  all  my  family  through 
giving  them  an  opportunity  to  "  let  patience  have  its 
perfect  work  " — and  all  with  no  justifying  cause,  except 
that  the  iron  of  sorrow  had  entered  my  soul,  the  color 
had  been  taken  from  my  life,  and  I  had  not  yet  found 
my  readjustments.  Nevertheless  I  denied  my  condi- 
tion, and  so  one  day  the  doctor  tried  to  explain  it  to  me. 
"  A  person,"  he  began,  "  is  said  to  be  nervous  when  pre- 
senting a  special  susceptibility  to  pain,  or  exhibiting 
an  undue  mobility  of  the  nervous  system,  as  when  one 
starts,  or  shakes  on  the  occasion  of  abrupt  or  intense 
sensorial  impressions,  thus  showing  an  exalted  emotional 
susceptibility.  The  heart  itself  under  the  influence  of 
nervous  stimulation  may  in  a  moment  change  its  cus- 
tomary order  and  rate  of  action,  and  in  extreme  cases 
cease  to  beat.  The  whole  mental  processes,  as  well  as 
the  functions  of  organic  life,  may  be  seriously  involved. 
Now  in  your  case,  madam " 

"  Stop,  doctor.  I  take  in  the  fact,"  said  I,  "  which  is 
evident  in  your  high-sounding  phrases,  that  nervous 
prostration  is  a  killing  complaint  and  you  are  going  to 
treat  me  for  it." 

"  Perhaps  so,"  said  the  doctor.  "  It  often  happens 
that  an  exaltation  or  diminution  of  activity  in  some  one 


188  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

portion  of  the  nervous  system  causes  perverted  action 
in  another  part,  as  when  any  unusual  strain  has  been 
thrown  upon  you." 

"  For  instance,"  said  I,  "  when  a  friend  came  last 
Sunday  and  allowed  me  to  carry  up-stairs  her  grip-sack 
with  books  in  it  ?  " 

"  Politeness  should  never  require  you  to  do  such  a 
thing,"  said  the  doctor,  "  but  the  strain  may  not  be  any 
physical  exertion  or  overwork;  deficient  sleep,  any  sud- 
den shock  of  joy  or  fear,  especially  terror,  might  prove 
fatal." 

"  I  was  much  frightened  last  summer,''  said  I,  "  by 
a  stroke  of  lightning  which  destroyed  an  immense  oak 
tree  in  front  of  the  door.  It  was  a  worse  panic  than 
that  which  seizes  one  on  seeing  one's  husband  bringing 
three  gentlemen  to  dinner,  when  there  is  only  one  good 
little  porter-house  steak  in  the  house." 

"  Allow  me  to  say,"  continued  the  doctor,  "  nervous- 
ness characterizes  women  more  than  men.  It  some- 
times comes  on  as  a  sequence  of  severe  illness,  some 
grave  anxiety,  some  physical  or  moral  shock,  like  the 
unexpected  discovery  of  perfidy  or  disloyalty  on  the  part 
of  a  friend.  Then,  too,  nervous  prostration  is  brought 
on  by  unremitting  or  monotonous  duties,  which  keep 
the  same  paths  of  action  from  day  to  day." 

"  I  was  told,"  said  I,  "  of  a  lawyer  who  entering  his 
office  the  other  day  read  upon  his  slate  the  statement 
that  he  would  be  back  in  half  an  hour;  in  a  fit  of  ab- 
sence of  mind  he  took  a  seat  and  waited  for  himself,  and 
it  was  some  time  before  he  realized  that  he  was  in  his 
own  office,  and  that  he  was  not  one  of  his  own  clients." 


Nervous  Prostration.  189 

"  That/'  replied  the  doctor,  "  was  no  worse  than  the 
case  of  the  reverend  gentleman  who  on  going  out  one 
morning  gathered  up  an  ordinary  business  coat  and  car- 
ried it  around  the  whole  day,  thinking  it  was  his  over- 
coat, and  was  more  surprised  than  anybody  else  when  in- 
formed of  his  mistake.  These  examples  are  evidences 
and  symptoms  of  nervous  disorder.  I  never  knew  a  man 
to  hurt  himself  by  mere  bodily  labor ;  but  excessive  men- 
tal toil  is  certainly  capable  of  damaging  the  nervous  tis- 
sues. Any  calamity,  misfortune,  pecuniary  loss,  or 
accident  is  liable  to  bring  on  nervous  prostration.  What 
are  the  symptoms?  Loss  of  sleeping  power,  incapacity 
and  aversion  to  work,  lassitude,  headache,  an  anxious 
and  cross  expression  of  countenance,  heart  disturbance, 
cramp — all  these  may  be  indications  of  local  nervous 
exhaustion." 

"  Doctor,  how  do  you  propose  to  exterminate  this 
formidable  enemy  ?  " 

"  For  the  treatment  of  nervous  diseases,"  said  he, 
"  we  have  at  our  disposal  invaluable  remedies  whose 
action  is  more  or  less  special.  There  is  strychnine,  bro- 
mide of  potassium,  possessing  the  opposite  properties  of 
increasing  and  diminishing  the  reflex  excitability  of  the 
nervous  system,  in  addition  to  other  beneficial  modes  of 
action.  Then  we  have  chloral  and  morphine,  acting 
directly  and  indirectly  as  hypnotics,  thus  allowing  the 
curative  action  of  rest  to  come  into  play.  For  pain,  we 
have  opium,  Indian  hemp,  subcutaneous  injections  of 
morphia,  and  the  galvanic  current.  We  have  any  num- 
ber of  drugs  for  influencing,  relaxing,  mitigating  pain, 
reinforcing  the    nutrition    of    wasted    muscles.     Then 


190  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

there  are  nervine  tonics,  preparations  of  zinc,  arsenic, 
iron,  quinine,  phosphorus,  cod-liver  oil,  to  say  nothing 
of  cold  or  tepid  douches,  and  the  massage  treatment." 

"  Good  gracious !  "  I  exclaimed,  "  am  I  to  swallow  all 
these  poisonous  things  ?  " 

"  There  is  no  occasion  for  alarm,  madam.  I  don't 
propose  to  prescribe  all  these  things  at  once.  The  first 
thing  I  shall  order  is  very  important — it  is  a  simple  but 
nutritious  diet.  Eat  plenty  of  ripe  fruit;  drink  pure, 
distilled  water;  take  plenty  of  gentle  but  regular  exer- 
cise, and  sleep  as  much  as  possible.  You  must  be  sur- 
rounded by  agreeable  society,  have  plenty  of  fresh  air 
and  excellent  food,  and  with  temperance,  avoiding  all 
excitement  and  mental  exertion,  I  hope  you  will  soon  be 
well." 

"  But,  doctor,  suppose  baby  Laura  falls  down-stairs 
or  the  house  takes  fire  ?  " 

"  You  are  to  be  kept  ignorant  of  all  such  things.  The 
medicine  you  need  is  perfect  rest,  for  after  all  it  is  the 
most  powerful  therapeutic  agent  when  you  understand 
its  nature  and  the  indications  for  its  use.  You  rest 
your  body  in  sleep,  you  rest  your  mind  by  looking  on 
beautiful  things,  hearing  good  music,  and  thinking  of 
nothing.  Sleep  is  a  preventive  of  disease,  and  the 
want  of  it,  if  carried  too  far,  causes  death.  Sleep  is 
balm  to  the  careworn  mind  and  over-wrought  brain. 
In  these  days  of  emulation  and  worry,  the  waste  of 
nerve  force  must  be  repaired  by  sleeping  and  cessation 
from  all  work.  Now  is  the  time  to  stop,  lest  you  come 
to  the  door  of  the  insane  asylum.  I  repeat,  absolute 
rest,"  said  the  doctor,  striking  his  cane  on  the  floor. 


Nervous  Prostration.  191 

"  and  no  stimulants  to  excite  rapid  circulation  The 
brain  recovers  slowly  and  resents  too  early  demands  on 
it  after  any  injury.  The  general  health  must  be  main- 
tained at  the  highest  possible  standard,  and  you  must 
not  worry.    You  must  be  a  philosopher." 

"  Doctor,"  said  I,  "  I  can  do  better  than  that ;  I  can 
be  a  Christian.  I  can  say,  '  Yes,  Lord,'  to  whatever 
God  sends.  That  is  the  philosophy  of  Hannah  Whitall 
Smith,  and  I  have  tested  its  efficacy." 

"  Yes,  madam,  I  too,"  said  the  doctor,  "  would  recom- 
mend anything  of  a  soothing,  tranquilizing  character. 
I  shall  call  to-morrow;  good  morning." 

1  have  reflected  somewhat  since  those  days,  and  when 
a  woman  tells  me  now  that  she  is  suffering  from  nervous 
prostration  I  know  that  she  is  struggling  with  a  disease 
— a  mournful,  painful,  destructive  actuality.  Emerson 
says,  "when  one  is  ill  something  the  devil's  the  matter." 
I  know  it  is  so  with  a  woman,  for  all  the  peace  and  joy 
of  life  go  out  of  her  with  sickness.  I  believe,  too,  that 
she  would  be  subject  to  less  nervous  prostration  if  she 
had  greater  part  in  the  more  enlarging  and  ennobling 
human  activities.  But  as  mother  earth  reinvigorated 
him  who  touched  her,  so  what  life  we  have  comes  from 
God,  and  indwelling  with  the  Divine  ought  to  renew  us 
body  and  soul.  Christ  Himself  may  not  have  revealed 
the  miracle  of  health  to  the  apostles,  but  He  taught  them 
to  use,  it.  Mankind  soon  lost  connection  with  the  spirit- 
ual dynamo  of  revitalization — except  most  intermitting- 
ly.  But  has  this  been  so  through  necessity  or  by  reason 
of  gross  materialism  ?  Among  "  the  greater  things  than 
these  "  of  the  promise,  may  not  highly  spiritualized  na- 


192  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

tures  already  be  refmding  the  natural  laws  of  healthful 
living  through  emphasizing  the  rightful  dominance  of 
man's  spiritual  being  ?  "  All  my  fresh  springs  are  in 
Thee !  "  "  I  will  arise  in  newness  of  life  "  cannot  refer 
to  the  soul  without  including  the  body,  for  the  greater 
includes  the  less.  The  tendency  to  give  less  and  less 
medicine;  the  declaration  of  the  medical  world  that 
drugs  are  not  curative;  the  healing  of  the  body  by  the 
invisible  forces  of  nature,  as  is  being  done  every  day — 
all  these  things  electrify  with  the  hope  that  the  world  is 
about  to  discover  "  the  miracles  in  which  we  are  nour- 
ished." The  revelation  of  the  20th  century  may  be  how 
to  pull  out  that  "  nail  of  pain  "  which,  according  to 
Plato,  fastens  the  mind  to  the  body;  and  the  joy  of 
simple,  harmonious  existence  may  become  a  reasonable 
hope  to  suffering  mortals. 

After  this  experience  of  illness  I  made  a  trip  through 
Canada  and  the  East.  With  new  vigor  and  the  old 
interest  I  resumed  my  home  duties  and  was  preparing 
to  enjoy  our  New  Orleans  carnival  season,  when  one 
morning  the  housemaid  announced :  "  Mis'  C&lline,  I 
do  b'lieve  Eex  is  come,  fur  dar's  er  ole  man  at  de  do' 
wid  er  shabby  umbril  an'  de  ole-es'  han'bag — an'  he  say 
he's  you'  cousin  !  "  I  hastened  to  meet  him,  and  knew  at 
once  who  it  was;  but  the  old  man  was  in  an  exhausted 
condition.  He  said :  "  I  have  some  brandy  with  me, 
and  I  need  it.  I  have  been  very  sick,  but  I  thought  I 
was  well  enough  to  come  to  see  you  once  more  before  I 
die."  I  administered  a  stimulant  to  old  cousin  Jimmie, 
and  in  a  cheerful  strain  he  continued :  "  Oh,  you're  so 
like  your  ma,  cousin.     She  was  an  angel,   and  your. 


Nervous  Prostration.  193 

worldly-minded  old  pa  gave  her  lots  of  trouble,  for  your 
ma  was  pious,  and  she  had  a  hard  time  to  get  him  into 
the  church.  Cousin  David  was  a  fine  man,  too,  and  he 
had  to  give  in  at  last  to  the  blessed  persuasion  of  cousin 
Betsey,  your  angel-mother." 

The  next  day  I  observed  cousin  Jimmie  was  holding 
a  wooden  whistle  in  his  hand,  and  blowing  softly  into  it, 
I  inquired  what  it  was.  "  This  whistle,"  he  said,  "  is 
older  than  your  old  spinning-wheel  and  the  ancient  chiny 
in  the  corner  cupboard."  "  But,  I  enquired,  what  is  the 
use  of  it?"  Cousin  Jimmie  replied:  "They  called  up 
the  crows  with  it,  so  they  could  shoot  'em."  "  I  always 
regarded  crows  as  harmless  creatures  whose  inky  black- 
ness of  color  was  very  useful  as  a  comparison,"  I  re- 
plied. "  Well,  you  never  knowed  anything  at  all  about 
crows,"  said  cousin  Jimmie.  "  I  tell  you,  when  a  crow 
lights  on  a  year  o'  corn,  they  eats  every  single  grain 
before  they  stop;  and  I  tell  you  they  are  suspicious 
critters,  too — these  crows !  I  used  to  thread  a  horse- 
hair into  a  needle  and  stick  it  in  a  grain  0'  corn,  and 
draw  the  hair  through,  and  tie  it,  and  throw  it  around, 
and  they  would  pick  it  up  and  swallow  the  corn.  Then 
1  would  stand  off  and  watch  the  rascals  scratchin'  their 
beaks  tryin'  to  get  rid  0'  the  hair,  until  they  got  so 
bothered  they  would  quit  that  field  and  never  come 
back.  I  was  a  little  boy,  them  days."  "  Yes,"  said  I, 
"  and  boys  are  so  cruel."  "  Maybe  so,"  said  cousin 
Jimmie;  "but  I  wa'n't  'lowed  to  have  a  gun  to  shoot 
'em — crows  nor  nuthin5  else.  Boys  was  boys  them  days, 
not  undersized  men  struttin'  'round  with  a  cigyar  in 
their  mouths,  too  grand  to  lay  holt  of  a  plow  handle. 
13 


194  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

Why,  some  big  boys,  sixteen  years  old,  can't  ketch  a 
horse  and  saddle  him,  let  alone  put  him  to  a  buggy  all 
right.     I  know  that  for  a  fact !  " 

"  Do  you  like  roast  lamb  and  green  peas,  cousin 
Jimmie? — for  that  is  what  we  have  for  dinner  to-day; 
but  I  can  order  anything  else  you  like  better?  "  "  I'm 
not  hard  to  please,  cousin,"  he  answered.  "  I  like  good 
fat  mutton — and  turnips ;  but  cousin,  them  turnips 
must  be  biled  good  and  done.  Done  turnips  never  hurt 
nobody.  Why,  when  I  had  the  pneumony  last  winter  I 
sent  and  got  a  bagful — and  I  had  'em  cooked  all  right ; 
and  way  in  the  night,  whilst  I  had  a  fever,  I  would 
retch  out  and  get  a  turnip  and  eat  it.  Bile  'em  good 
and  done  and  they  can't  hurt  nobody — sick  or  well." 

"  I  never  heard  of  sick  people  eating  turnips," 
said  I. 

"  But  you  see  I  have,  and  has  eat  'em,  and  am  here 
to  tell  you  about  'em." 

"  General  Grant  is  nominated  for  President,"  said  I, 
looking  over  the  morning  paper.  "  Grant,  did  you  say  ? 
I'll  never  vote  for  him !  He  wasn't  satisfied  with 
$25,000  for  salary,  but  wanted  $50,000 ;  and  ncx'  time 
he'll  want  a  hundred  thousand.  Do  you  know,  cousin," 
said  the  old  man,  "  that  them  Yankees  robbed  me  of 
one  hundred  and  fifty  niggers?  The  government  ought 
to  pay  me  for  'em.  They  had  no  more  right  to  take 
them  niggers  than  they  had  to  steal  my  horses  and 
mules — which  they  stole  at  the  same  time.  I  tell  you, 
they  must  pay  me  for  my  property  !  "  and  cousin  Jimmie 
came  down  with  a  heavy  blow  of  his  walking  cane  on 
the  rug.    "  Ef  they  don't  pay  me  they  are  the  grandest 


Nervous  Prostration.  195 

set  0'  villyuns  on  top  0'  earth!  When  the  blue-coated 
raskils  was  goin'  up  the  Cheney ville  road  they  met  up 
with  two  runaways  old  Mr.  Ironton  had  caught  and  hob- 
bled with  a  chain.  A  Yankee  said  it  was  a  shame  for 
a  human  bein'  to  be  treated  so.  Mrs.  Ironton  flung 
back  at  'em :  '  I  don't  care !  you  may  show  them  to  the 
President  himself,  and  hang  them  round  his  neck,  if 
you  like.'  The  old  woman  was  so  sassy  that  the  man 
simmered  down.  I  heard  another  officer  inquire  very 
perlite,  ef  it  was  customary  to  sarve  the  niggers  this 
way,  and  I  said  we  had  to  do  something  to  keep  'em  down 
in  their  places;  and,  no  matter  how  bad  a  nigger  wa6, 
he  was  too  valuable  to  kill,  so  we  punished  'em  in  other 
ways. 

"  To-morrow  is  my  birthday,"  sighed  cousin  Jimmie, 
"  and  I'll  be  eighty-eight  years  old."  I  celebrated  the 
day  for  him  and  made  him  some  presents ;  and  I  asked 
him  to  tell  me  bravely  and  truly  whether  or  not  he 
would  be  willing  to  live  his  life  over,  to  accumulate  all 
the  money  and  estate  he  once  possessed,  to  become  a 
second  time  sick  and  old  and  destitute.  Cousin  Jimmie 
was  silent  a  moment;  then  his  aged  eyes  twinkled,  and 
a  smile  spread  over  his  still  handsome  old  face :  "  I 
would  try  it  over;  life  is  mighty  sweet;  I'm  not  ready 
to  give  it  up,  cousin."  "But  you  must  before  long 
relinquish  all  there  is  in  this  life."  "  Well,"  said  he, 
"  I've  made  pervision.  I  gave  my  niece  Mary  all  my 
silver  and  my  red  satin  furniture,  and  my  brother 
has  promised  to  bury  me  with  my  people  in  Mississippi. 
I'm  all  right  there." 


196  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

"  I've  heard,  cousin  Jimmie,  that  you  denied  the 
globular  shape  of  the  earth.  How  is  that?" 
'  "  Why,  I  lenow  the  earth  is  flat.  'Taint  fashionable 
to  say  so,  but  it  don't  stand  to  reason  that  the  world  is 
round  and  flyin'  in  the  air,  like  folks  say.  'Tain't  no 
sech  thing — else  eyes  ain't  no  account." 

Two  years  more  of  this  life,  and  then  old  cousin 
Jimmie — who  was  my  father's  first  cousin  on  his 
mother's  side — was  able  from  some  other  planet,  we 
hope,  to  investigate  the  shape  of  this  one  to  which  he 
had  clung  so  loyally. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

ENTER— AS    AN"    EPISODE MRS.     COLUMBIANA    PORTER- 
FIELD. 

There  are  characters  of  such  marked  and  peculiar 
individuality  that  they  loom  upon  one's  consciousness 
like  Stonehenge,  or  any  other  magnificent  ruin,  as 
Charles  Lamb  says  of  Mrs.  Conrady's  ugliness;  and 
their  discovery  "  is  an  era  in  one's  existence."  In  this 
way  one  of  my  intimate  associates,  Mrs.  Columbiana 
Porterfield,  stands  preeminent  in  my  early  and  later 
recollections;  but  I  was  sorry  to  see  into  her.  Every 
time  we  were  together  it  impressed  me  more  vividly 
than  before,  that  self  was  the  great  center  about  which 
everything  revolved  for  her.  All  her  sympathies  were 
related  to  that  idol.  No  small  human  creature  inter- 
ested her  large  mind,  except  as  connected  with  herself. 
She  was  devoted  to  her  church,  especially  to  its  minis- 
ters, but  it  was  a  sanctuary  where  she  worshiped  self 
in  the  guise  of  godliness,  and  her  own  honor  and  glory 
was  what  she  worked  for  in  the  name  of  the  Master. 
At  one  time  the  sense  of  her  colossal  selfishness  so  ate 
into  my  spirit  of  charity  that  I  tried  to  work  it  off  by 
writing  out,  to  one  of  my  intimates,  the  following  let- 
ters   which   embrace    actual   incidents    and   individual 

experiences  through  which  are  revealed  Columbiana's 

197 


198  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

inordinate  ambitions  and  desires  for  distinction — "her 
mark,  her  token;  that  by  which  she  was  known."  Per- 
haps she  may  stand  like  a  lighthouse  to  warn  off  other, 
women  from  the  same  shoals. 

Number  1. 

Miss  Columbiana  Porterfield  was  fat,  fair,  and  al- 
most forty  years  old  when  she  became  a  winter  visitor 
al  Colonel  Johnson's  plantation  home  in  the  far  South. 
She  was  so  much  respected  and  admired  by  the  Colonel 
that  when  his  wife  died  he  urgently  invited  her  to  fill 
the  void  in  his  heart  and  home. 

The  position  seemed  advantageous,  and  the  lady  ac- 
cepted the  situation,  entering  confidently  upon  the  duties 
involved,  resolving  to  adapt  herself  to  her  surroundings 
when  she  could  not  bend  circumstances  to  her  own  strong 
will.  She  was  a  sensible  woman,  and  her  good  hus- 
band loved  her  with  a  doting,  foolish  fondness  which  he 
had  never  exhibited  to  the  departed  wife  of  his  youth. 

The  family  servants  did  not  hesitate  in  giving  her 
the  allegiance  due  to  power  and  place,  and  they  were 
careful  to  pay  all  deference  to  the  new  mistress;  there- 
fore Mrs.  Johnson  was  surprised  to  overhear  the  house- 
woman  saying  to  the  cook :  "  I  tell  yer  dat  ar  white 
'oman  from  de  Norf  ain't  got  dem  keen  eyes  in  dat 
big  head  0'  hern  for  nuthin';  I'm  afeered  of  her,  I  is 
dat."  The  lady  was  wisely  deaf  to  these  remarks,  but 
they  rankled  in  her  mind  several  days. 

One  of  the  neighbors  thought  Mrs.  Johnson  was  not 
a  good  housekeeper,  because  she  had  apple  fritters  for 


Mrs.  Columbiana  Porterfield.         199 

dinner,  when  there  was  ample  time  to  make  floating- 
island  and  even  Charlotte  Russe  before  that  meal  was 
served.  Yet  with  all  this  talk  it  was  easy  to  see  that  the 
newly-adopted  head  of  the  household  had  completely 
identified  herself  with  her  family. 

There  are  Americans  who  go  to  Europe,  and  after  a 
short  stay  no  longer  regard  the  United  States  as  a  fit 
dwelling-place  for  civilized  beings;  who  indulge  them- 
selves in  the  abuse  of  scenery,  climate,  customs  and 
government  of  their  own  native  land  as  freely  as  any 
hostile-minded  foreigner.  Therefore  it  is  not  strange 
that  Northerners  who  come  to  live  in  the  South  should 
become  attached  to  their  surroundings,  and  even  prefer 
them  to  all  others  which  they  ever  knew. 

Mrs.  Johnson  loved  her  stepchildren,  Harry  and 
Lucy.  She  taught  them  to  call  her  "  aunt/'  but  their 
own  mother  could  not  have  been  more  devoted  to  the 
children  of  the  father  who  had  lain  down  and  died 
amidst  the  great  conflict  which  was  a  horror  to  the 
whole  country.  Mrs.  Johnson  was  greatly  agitated  by 
the  war  and  its  results,  and  as  soon  as  possible  after 
this  cruel  strife  was  over,  she  took  Lucy  with  her  on 
a  visit  to  her  Northern  home,  leaving  Harry  behind. 
Among  the  first  letters  sent  back  was  the  following, 
dated  October  15th,  1867: 

My  dearest  Harry, — My  sister  was  rejoiced  to 
see  me  alive  once  more;  but  I  feel  like  a  stranger,  for 
when  I  look  at  your  sister  I  cannot  realize  that  she  is 
here  where  she  does  not  belong.  It  is  a  visible  contrast 
of  two  extremes,  my  family  representing  one,  and  Lucy, 


200  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

•the  other.  The  North  and  South  will  hreakfast  together 
to-morrow  morning  on  buckwheat  cakes  and  codfish 
balls.  Everybody  loves  your  little  rebel  sister.  Even 
the  girl  in  the  kitchen  dotes  on  her,  and  looks  lovingly 
on  the  dear  girl  while  she  is  demolishing  the  dainty 
dishes  she  has  compounded  for  her  delectation.  I  don't 
mean  fish-balls,  for  she  hates  them. 

I  know  she  thinks  Lucy  is  an  angel,  while  I  suspect 
I  am  thought  to  be  exactly  the  reverse,  judging  by  the 
disagreeable,  reluctant  way  she  has  of  serving  me.  A 
woman  who  had  been  teaching  the  freedmen  down  in 
South  Carolina  came  here  last  week  to  collect  money 
for  them.  Everybody  went  to  hear  her  speak,  and  Lucy 
just  went  along  with  the  rest.  It  was  a  highly  im- 
proper thing  for  a  Southern  girl  to  do.  I  knew  it,  but 
could  not  put  my  veto  on  it  and  make  myself  odious  to 
the  family,  so  I  held  my  peace  and  let  her  go,  though 
I  should  have  been  ashamed  to  be  seen  in  such  a  place. 
She  told  me  all  about  it.  however,  and  you  have  a  right 
to  be  proud  of  your  noble  sister.  She  conquered  her 
nerves  and  sat  perched  on  a  front  seat  and  listened  with 
great  attention,  and  almost  repeated  the  whole  thing 
for  me  when  she  came  home. 

The  woman  dilated  eloquently  upon  the  awful  sin 
of  caste  prejudice  existing  among  the  abominable  South 
Carolina  aristocrats,  who,  while  they  would  accost  and 
speak  to  the  colored  pupils,  were  so  stuck  up  that  they 
regarded  the  white  teachers  as  no  better  than  the  dirt 
under  their  feet.  After  the  speech  was  over,  they  took 
up  a  collection,  and  when  my  sister  told  me  she  saw 
Lucy  put  in  five  dollars,  I  was  just  too  provoked  to  say 


Mrs.  Columbiana  Porterfield.         201 

a  word.  To  do  this  foolish  thing  after  all  our  losses 
was  too  much — when  she  has  ordered  a  new  pelisse 
from  New  York,  too.!  I  could  scarcely  sleep  for  think- 
ing of  this  folly.  The  cold  weather  gives  me  a  despond- 
ency anyhow.  It  makes  me  think  of  my  own  home  in 
the  South,  with  all  its  comforts  and  the  beautiful  wood 
fires,  now  mine  no  longer.  True,  the  house  is  mine,  the 
dear  Colonel  gave  me  that,  and  the  land,  and  the  stock. 
There  is  the  old  family  carriage  and  the  horses;  but  it 
is  bitter  as  wormwood  and  gall  to  have  no  one  here  to 
drive  me  out  or  do  the  smallest  thing  for  me  unless  I 
pay  out  money  which  I  no  longer  possess.  It  was  a 
wicked  thing  to  ruin  and  break  up  our  homes  like  this, 
but,  my  dear  boy,  we  must  try  to  be  content  with  what 
God  sends.  Our  portion  is  not  money,  but  water;  an 
overflow  of  it  in  the  river,  and  too  many  caterpillars  in 
the  cotton  fields  eating  up  our  crops.  You  must  be 
prepared  to  suffer  poverty  and  affliction  without  slaves 
to  polish  your  boots  and  rub  down  your  horses.  You 
may  even  be  obliged  to  chop  kindling  for  me  to  cook 
with,  before  you  are  done. 

The  old  purposes,  habits  and  customs  cannot  be  car- 
ried out  any  longer.  You  must  not  think  of  matrimony. 
You  ought  now  to  wait  until  you  are  thirty  years  old 
before  you  attempt  to  make  a  shipwreck  of  your  life  by 
marriage.  But  I  do  know  a  perfect  Hebe  who  would 
suit  you  exactly.  She  comes  here  often.  Oh!  she  is  a 
dainty  warbler,  not  quite  full-fledged,  but  superior, 
noble,  magnificent  in  design,  able  to  soar  higher  than 
any  of  those  finiky,  twittering  little  canaries  you  love 
to  play  with.     A  splendid  ancestry,  too,  as  ever  lived, 


202  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

solid,  wealthy  men,  though  some  of  them  are  deterio- 
rated by  having  married  wives  who  were  nobody.  Some 
women  dwarf  men's  souls  by  their  own  littleness.  I 
hope  you  will  not  fall  a  victim  to  any  such. 

You  must  keep  up  the  family  prestige;  your  tal- 
ents and  associations  demand  a  foremost  place,  and  you 
must  refuse  to  commonize  yourself  with  that  low,  ig- 
norant, profane,  dram-drinking  set  of  young  men 
around  you.  I  do  heartily  despise  them  all,  and  have 
never  received  them  in  my  house  when  I  could  help  it. 
They  would  gladly  drag  you  down  to  their  own  level  if 
they  could. 

How  these  good  New  Englanders  rejoice  in  the 
emancipation  of  the  slaves !  All  my  friends  and  rela- 
tions chuckle  over  it,  so  that  it  looks  to  me  like  malice 
triumphant.  Lucy  came  out  last  Sunday  in  a  beautiful 
new  hat  and  pelisse  from  New  York,  looking  like  the 
daughter  of  a  duchess;  and  old  cousin  Althea  said  that 
she  did  not  look  that  day  as  much  like  ruin  as  she  had 
expected  when  she  saw  me  and  Lucy  getting  out  of 
the  carriage  in  our  shabby  old  war  clothes.  That  old 
thing  is  perfectly  hateful  and  always  was. 

If  our  old  servants  are  still  with  you,  say  "  howdie  " 
to  them  for  me.  I  hope  Chloe  has  not  run  off  with  her 
freedom  anywhere.  She  does  make  such  nice  waffles 
and  French  rolls.  You  must  contrive  some  way  to  keep 
Chloe  if  I  am  expected  to  spend  much  time  with  you. 

Your  loving  aunt, 

Columbiana. 


Mrs.  Columbiana  Porterfield.         203 

Number  2. 

My  dear  Harry, — Lucy  has  a  beau.  She  denies 
the  fact,  but  there  is  a  gentleman  here  from  New  York 
who  is  an  intimate  friend  of  my  brother,  and  he  looks 
at  your  sister  and  watches  her  so  eagerly,  and  does  so 
many  things  to  please  her  and  to  promote  my  comfort, 
that  I  am  dead  sure  it  is  an  elaborate  case  of  love.  I 
do  not  think  him  a  suitable  match  for  Lucy  in  every 
respect,  but  he  is  very  useful  to  accompany  us  on  ex- 
cursions and  he  manages  a  pair  of  horses  admirably, 
and  it  is  convenient  to  have  such  a  man  around.  We 
went  to  cousin  Sabina  Suns'  yesterday,  where  we  were 
all  invited  to  dine  and  to  meet  the  Bishop  and  Prof. 
Elliott.  I  made  occasion  to  pass  through  the  dining- 
room.  Heaps  of  red  currants  in  lovely  cut-glass  bowls, 
golden  cream  in  abundance,  white  mountain  cake  and 
luscious  peaches  were  set  out  for  dessert,  instead  of  the 
everlasting  doughnuts  and  perpetual  pie  which  you  see 
everywhere.  Not  that  I  care  for  dessert.  I  knew  we 
should  have  oyster  soup  and  a  pair  of  roasted  fowls 
and  all  accompaniments  of  a  regular  dinner,  for  Sabina 
Suns'  girl  is  the  best  cook  I  have  found  anywhere. 

We  were  all  sitting  in  the  west  drawing-room,  and 
the  Bishop  had  not  yet  arrived,  when  somehow  we  got 
upon  the  subject  of  the  late  unpleasantness,  and  Sa- 
bina Suns  blurted  out  that  Jefferson  Davis  was  a  traitor, 
and  ought  to  be  hanged.  Tears  came  to  Lucy's  eyes  and 
the  blood  mounted  to  her  temples.  She  suddenly  dis- 
appeared. I  saw  the  fire  in  the  child's  eyes  and  felt  the 
bitterness  in  her  heart,  though  I  said  nothing  to  her, 


204  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

but  I  begged  Sabina  to  spare  our  feelings,  for  I  saw  she 
had  gone  too  far.  In  a  few  moments  Lucy  appeared 
with  her  hat  and  gloves  and  bade  cousin  Sabina  Suns 
good-by,  and  went  away  before  our  astonishment  had 
subsided. 

I  wanted  Lucy  to  meet  the  Bishop  and  the  young 
college  professor  of  entomology.  I  had  been  telling  her 
what  a  fine  young  man  he  was,  of  such  a  wealthy  fam- 
ily, and  it  now  became  her  to  be  on  the  lookout  for  some 
better  establishment  than  any  poor  Southerner  could 
offer.  She  is  young  and  pays  little  attention  to  what  I 
say.  Sabina  was  rude  and  unkind,  but  the  Bishop  and 
Professor  were  coming,  and  then  there  was  the  dinner, 
so  I  remained  and  really  had  a  splendid  time,  except 
for  this  unpleasant  episode. 

I  intended  to  scold  Lucy,  butwhenlreachedmysister's 
house  I  found  it  was  no  use.  Lucy's  fiery  indignation 
would  brook  no  reproof.  She  opened  the  flood-gates  of 
her  wrath  upon  Sabina  without  mercy.  She  said  the 
woman  had  elevated  one  of  her  enormous  feet  upon  the 
other  as  though  such  cruel  language  must  inevitably 
be  accompanied  by  some  vulgar  action,  and  her  two 
feet  so  elevated  seemed  high  enough  for  a  common  gal- 
lows post.  To  be  candid,  I  was  almost  scared  to  death 
to  see  your  sister  so  angry  and  spiteful.  But  I  like  a 
woman  of  spirit;  it  is  not  best,  however,  to  run  off  on 
a  tangent  in  the  face  of  good  company  and  a  first-class 
dinner.  My  dear  Harry,  I  think  you  are  better  trained, 
and  would  have  shown  more  common  sense  under  the 
same  circumstances. 

The  Hightowers,  who  have  so  often  entertained  me  in 


Mrs.  Columbiana  Porterfield.         205 

New  York,  want  their  son  Howard  to  come  to  the  moun- 
tains or  go  somewhere  to  rest  after  he  is  graduated, 
and  I  have  invited  him  to  come  up  here  as  a  sort  of  re- 
turn hospitality  for  a  long  visit  I  made  with  them. 
The  New  York  beau  is  soon  to  leave.  I  could  not  under- 
stand that  Lucy  promoted  his  departure  in  any  way, 
but  I  thought  Howard  would  be  useful.  Not  that  I 
think  he  would  be  a  more  desirable  parti  than  the  .other, 
but  it  is  handy  to  have  a  young  fellow  around  to  wait 
upon  us  or  take  us  to  different  places.  He  will  come 
next  week,  but  I  shall  not  apprise  my  sister,  who  might 
object  at  the  last  moment,  though  I  am  sure  she  will 
treat  him  well,  as  she  does  all  my  friends. 

Lucy  dressed  herself  with  great  elegance  this  evening. 
T  did  not  think  it  was  worth  while  to  be  wasting  her 
best  dry  goods  and  her  dear  self  on  the  people  she  was 
going  to  visit;  and  as  I  sat  in  her  dressing-room  and 
saw  her  laced  up  in  her  new  lavender  silk,  which  is 
supremely  becoming  to  her  lovely  complexion,  and 
then  pin  on  a  rich  Brussels  lace  collar,  I  could  not  help 
reproving  her  by  reminding  her  of  her  long  deceased 
elder  sister,  who,  I  said,  doubtless  was  looking  down 
from  heaven  in  sorrow  and  disapprobation  of  such  vani- 
ties. "  Oh,  Aunt  Columbia !  "  said  she,  "  Nanny  Jones 
was  right  when  she  said  you  had  such  a  terrible  way  of 
throwing  up  a  girl's  dead  kinfolks  to  her;  please  don't 
make  me  cry;  I  don't  want  to  go  to  the  party  with  red 
eyes."  Henry,  that  Jones  girl  ought  never  to  have 
been  invited  to  your  uncle  Joseph's  house.  She  was  an 
incorrigible  piece,  and  was  a  great  trial  to  me  that 
month  she  spent  with  me. 


206  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

I  do  hope  you  go  regularly  to  church.  It  looks  beau- 
tiful to  see  a  high-bred  young  gentleman  sitting  in  his 
father's  pew.  The  desecration  of  the  Sabbath  in  our 
Southern  country  is  perfectly  awful.  I  never  could 
bear  to  see  it.  You  know  your  uncle  Joe,  Christian 
as  he  proposes  to  be,  will  say  to  his  wife :  "  Julia,  if 
you  must  have  a  cold  dinner  once  a  week,  get  it  in  on 
a  week  day;  on  Sunday  I  must  have  something  better 
than  usual,  and  it  must  be  fresh  and  hot."  I  frequently 
stopped  there  after  church  and  dined  with  him,  so  I 
was  well  aware  of  this  bad  example,  right  in  our  own 
family,  as  it  were. 

One  would  think,  after  fighting  through  such  a  long, 
bloody  war,  that  our  young  men  would  have  done  with 
all  private  killing  and  murdering,  and  would  settle 
down  at  home  and  be  industrious  and  peaceful;  so  I 
was  all  the  more  shocked  to  hear  that  young  Joe  Mc- 
Donald had  shot  and  killed  Billy  Whitfield,  and  all 
about  a  trifling  little  Texas  pony.  Joe  actually  had  the 
impertinence  to  write  to  Lucy  explaining  that  he  only 
acted  in  self-defense,  and  begging  her  not  to  refuse  to 
speak  to  him  when  she  returned.  She  shall  never  an- 
swer his  letter  or  look  at  him  again  with  my  consent.  I 
tremble  for  you,  my  dear  boy,  subject  as  you  are  to  such 
dreadful  associations,  and  I  pray  that  you  may  be  kept 
in  safety  from  every  evil-influence. 

Make  Chloe  look  after  the  poultry.  If  she  sets  some 
hens  now,  they  (the  chickens)  will  be  ready  for  broiling 
by  Christmas.  You  know  how  fond  I  am  of  young 
chickens  for  supper.     I  have  eaten  enough  cold  bread 


Mrs.  Columbiana  Porterfield.         207 

up  here  to  last  a  lifetime.     It  may  be  good  for  dys- 
peptics, but  I  am  not  one. 

.Your  loving  aunt, 

Columbiana. 

Number  3. 

My  dear  Harry, — I  do  miss  the  New  York  man. 
He  was  a  quiet,  sensible  gentleman,  and  if  you  happened 
to  utter  an  idea  above  the  average  he  was  always  able 
to  respond  and  keep  the  ball  of  conversation  passing 
agreeably  around  the  table  and  fireside.  There  are  so 
many  men  who  will  not  take  the  trouble  to  answer  a 
lady's  question  with  any  serious  thoughtfulness.  This 
boy  Howard  is  not  a  goose  by  any  means,  but  he  is  full 
of  animal  spirits  and  all  sorts  of  pranks.  He  has  kept 
Lucy  racing  about  over  the  country  so  that  she  has  no 
time  for  anything  else.  Two  weeks  ago  I  ripped  up  my 
old  black  satin  dress  which  did  not  set  right  in  the  back, 
and  there  it  lies  waiting  for  Lucy  to  put  it  together — 
for  I  do  hate  dressmakers'  bills,  and  your  sister  learned 
the  whole  science  of  remodeling  old  clothes  during  the 
war,  when  she  could  not  buy  any  cloth  to  save  her  life. 

Lucy  can  embroider  and  do  all  kinds  of  needlework, 
but  she  is  letting  the  needle  lie  idle  and  putting  out 
all  her  own  sewing,  which  I  cannot  allow  her  to  do  with 
a  good  conscience. 

I  noticed  the  other  day  that  Howard  had  Lucy's  dia- 
mond ring  on  his  little  finger,  and  now  she  tells  me  he 
lost  one  of  the  stones  out  of  it  when  he  went  after  pond 
lilies  yesterday.  The  boy  was  plagued  and  worried 
over  it  and  said  he  would  replace  it;  but  that  is  non- 


208  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

sense,  for  the  Hightowers  would  never  have  sent  Howard 
here  on  my  invitation  if  they  had  money  to  buy  dia- 
monds. I  made  Lucy  put  away  the  ring  in  her  trunk, 
and  told  her  jewels  were  unbecoming  to  a  Christian  girl 
and  her  father  ought  never  have  given  her  any  dia- 
monds. 

We  are  going  to  visit  a  mountain  to-morrow.  Lucy 
is  wild  after  such  things,  and  no  wonder,  living  so  long 
in  a  flat  country  which  can  boast  of  nothing  which  con- 
stitutes scenery,  not  even  a  pebble  or  a  brook  of  clear 
water.  These  hills  are  perfectly  heavenly  with  their 
grassy  slopes  ornamented  by  noble  trees,  and  then  the 
meadows  so  fragrant  with  new-mown  hay;  I  am  lost  in 
admiration  myself,  so  I  cannot  blame  the  raptures  of 
this  unsophisticated  child  of  nature,  who  sees  it  all  for 
the  first  time. 

My  sister's  horses  are  high-spirited  creatures,  and 
Howard,  who  has  had  no  experience  in  driving,  insisted 
upon  taking  the  reins,  when  they  ran  away  and  Lucy 
was  thrown  out ;  and  the  funniest  thing  happened  to  her 
in  a  wonderful  and  providential  manner ;  she  was  landed 
upon  a  bed  a  farmer's  wife  had  put  out  to  sun  before 
her  door.  She  fell  right  in  on  the  feathers  and  not  a 
bone  was  broken.  But  my  heart  failed  me  when 
Howard  came  home  at  a  late  hour,  with  the  side  of  his 
face  scratched  and  bruised,  and  helped  Lucy  out  of  the 
battered  carriage,  which  had  to  be  repaired  before  it 
could  be  driven  home. 

I  shall  greatly  rejoice  when  that  boy  takes  his  leave, 
for  I  am  in  hourly  dread  of  his  impetuosity  in  getting 
us  into  trouble. 


Mrs.  Columbiana  Porterfield.         209 

Still,  he  is  a  bright,  noble  spirit,  and  is  so  penitent 
when  he  does  anything  wrong  that  I  must  needs  forgive 
him.  I  really  fear  my  sister  is  beginning  to  weary  of 
my  young  friend.  I  think  the  broken  phaeton  has  some 
influence  on  her  feelings. 

I  have  no  time  to  write  a  long  letter,  so  I  enclose  one 
which  I  have  just  read  from  your  cousin  Maria  which 
contains  a  great  lesson  for  a  young  man  setting  out  in 
life — one  which  I  hope  you  will  lay  to  heart. 

Dear  Auntie, — Tell  Lucy  to  have  the  lilac  silk  dress 
made  up,  which  she  is  commissioned  to  buy  for  me.  We 
are  the  same  size  almost,  so  it  can  be  fitted  to  her  shape, 
and  I  want  it  trimmed  with  real  lace.  I  never  saw  any 
lace  while  the  war  went  on  and  I  long  to  feel  once  more 
like  a  lady.  I  think  a  liberal  quantity  of  fine  applique 
or  real  Brussels  lace  would  help  me  to  realize  the 
Union  is  truly  restored.  So  Lucy  must  reserve  one- 
half  the  money  I  send  for  the  dress  to  be  invested  in  this 
trimming. 

But  I  must  tell  you,  Auntie,  such  a  strange  thing 
happened  night  before  last.  It  was  after  midnight  and 
everybody  was  in  bed  when  a  loud  knocking  at  the  hall 
door  waked  us  all  up,  and  father  went  down  to  see  who 
it  was.  What  was  our  surprise  to  see  our  neigbor's 
wife,  Mrs.  McAlpine,  all  wet  with  rain,  without  any 
hat  or  shawl,  her  long  black  hair  hanging  down  her 
back,  the  very  picture  of  a  forlorn  and  despairing  crea- 
ture. She  begged  my  father  to  take  her  in  and  conceal 
her,  for  she  said  she  had  run  away  from  home,  for  her 
husband  was  going  to  kill  her  if  he  could  find  her.  My 
14 


210  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

mother  asked  her  what  she  had  done  to  awaken  such 
wrath  and  vengeance,  and  she  replied :  "  Nothing  at 
all ;  Mr.  McAlpine  had  been  drinking  and  was  wild  from 
the  effects  of  liquor."  Mother  gave  the  poor  lady  the 
guest  chamber  and  sent  me  to  her  room  with  dry  cloth- 
ing, and  I  assisted  her  to  undress.  Auntie,  when  I 
pulled  her  wet  dress  down  from  her  white  shoulders 
what  was  my  horror  to  see  them  all  bruised  and  seamed 
in  every  direction  as  by  the  marks  of  whip  or  cowhide. 
"  Oh,  my  God,"  said  I,  "  what  a  shame !  "  She  quickly 
covered  herself  with  the  gown  I  brought,  while  tears 
silently  flowed  down  her  pale  cheeks.  My  own  blood 
boiled  with  indignation  and  I  resolved  that  I  never 
would  speak  to  the  handsome,  gentlemanly  brute  who 
had  committed  this  outrage  upon  his  patient  and  gentle 
wife.  I  told  mother  what  I  had  seen  and  she  turned 
pale  and  told  me  to  say  nothing  to  anyone,  but  try  to 
contribute  in  every  way  to  the  comfort  of  the  unhappy 
guest  who  had  come  to  us  in  such  a  singular  way.  The 
next  day  about  ten  o'clock  Mr.  McAlpine  came  and  asked 
to  see  father.  When  Mrs.  McAlpine  found  her  hus- 
band was  in  the  house  she  seemed  crazed  with  a  mortal 
terror  and  begged  mother  to  lock  her  up  in  the  closet 
and  "  save  "  her.  Mother  tried  to  reassure  her,  but  in 
vain ;  nor  did  she  draw  an  easy  breath  until  she  saw  him 
driving  down  the  avenue  after  his  long  interview  with 
father  was  over.  Late  that  evening  father  called 
mother  and  me  into  the  library  and  informed  us  that 
we  must  not  feel  so  hostile  toward  the  man  whose  un- 
happy wife  we  were  entertaining,  for  he  was  entitled 
to  our  sympathy  and  pity,  and  he  was  sorry  to  tell  us 
that  Colonel  McAlpine  was  the  wretched  victim  of  an 


Mrs.   Columbiana  Porterfield.  211 

intemperate  wife,  whom  he  had  tried  in  vain  to  reform 
and  restrain  and  in  fact  he  had  resorted  to  everything 
else  before  using  the  lash  and  my  father  was  convinced 
of  the  truth  of  his  version  of  the  miserable  story. 

The  Colonel  begged  us  to  keep  the  lady  quiet  for  a 
day  or  two  and  then  bring  her  home.  It  seemed  to  me 
nothing  could  excuse  such  brutality,  and  when  mother 
grew  somewhat  reserved  to  her  unbidden  guest,  I  never 
varied  in  my  conduct,  and  she  was  quick  to  appreciate 
my  kindness.  When  two  days  had  passed,  to  my  sur- 
prise she  herself  proposed  to  return  and  asked  me  to 
drive  over  with  her  to  her  home.  I  was  reluctant  to 
leave  her  then,  but  the  Colonel  received  her  with  such 
an  apparent  kindness  and  cordiality  that  I  was  en- 
tirely reassured  and  I  tried  to  banish  the  recollection 
of  those  dreadful  marks  on  his  wife's  shoulders.  But 
what  could  I  do  under  the  circumstances?  The  woman 
said  she  must  go  home — to  her  child. 

You  will  think  this  is  enough  of  tragedy,  but  wait, 
dear  Auntie,  until  you  hear  the  end.  Last  night  Mr. 
McAlpine  shot  his  wife  through  the  heart,  then  blew 
out  his  own  brains,  and  the  whole  country  is  perfectly 
horrified,  and  the  wildest  rumors  are  going  around. 
Father  has  written  to  their  friends  in  New  York,  and 
mother  has  agreed  to  take  care  of  the  baby  until  they 
come  for  it. 

It  seems  really  frivolous  for  me  to  go  back  to  the  dress 
question  after  these  horrors,  but  tell  Lucy  to  have  our 
dresses  made  open  a  little  in  the  neck,  as  they  are  for 
evening. 

Yours  devotedly, 

Makia. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  SOUTHERN  WOMAN  BECOMES  A  "  CLUBABLE  **  BEING. 

In  every  individual  life  there  enter  events  which  in 
their  enlarged  influence  are  analogous  to  epoch-making 
periods  in  the  nation's  history.  Such,  surely,  was  my 
meeting  with  Susan  B.  Anthony,  when  she  visited  the 
New  Orleans  Exposition  in  1885.  I  had  long  kept  a 
vivid  and  dear  picture  of  her  in  the  inner  sanctuary  of 
my  mind;  had  become  acquainted  through  the  press 
with  the  vigor  of  her  intellect  and  the  native  independ- 
ence and  integrity  of  her  character;  had  known  she  was 
a  woman  "born  out  of  due  season,"  who  had  already 
spent  fifty  years  of  her  life  trying  to  make  "  the  rank 
and  file  "  of  women  and  men  see  that  the  human  race 
in  all  its  social  relations  is  in  bondage,  while  woman 
occupies  a  position  less  than  free.  I  had  so  long  been 
one  with  her  in  spirit  and  principles  that  I  was  not 
prepared  to  feel  so  like  a.  little  chicken  looking  into 
the  shell  out  of  which  it  has  just  stepped,  as  I  did  feel 
on  coming  face  to  face  with  all  the  expansiveness  her 
many  years  of  service  for  women  had  wrought  her  own 
justice-loving  personality. 

New  Orleans  stretched  out  a  friendly  hand  to  Miss 
Anthony.       The    surprise    of    finding    her    a    simple, 

212 


The  Southern  Woman.  213 

motherly,  gentle-mannered  woman  instead  of  the  typ- 
ical woman's-rights  exponent,  disarmed  and  warmed 
their  hearts,  so  that  press  and  people  received  her 
cordially.  She  was  invited  to  address  the  city  public 
schools,  and  spoke  to  many  appreciative  audiences  dur- 
ing the  few  weeks  New  Orleans  had  the  uplift  of  her 
presence.  In  a  private  letter  of  that  date  she  said  to 
me :  "I  remember  my  visit  to  the  Crescent  City  with  a 
great  deal  of  pleasure,  and  cherish  the  friendships  I 
made  there.  We  are  finding  out  quite  a  good  many  fine 
things  about  women  in  the  Gulf  States,  so  that  I  think 
you  may  feel  proud  that  so  much  true  growth  went  on 
— even  while  that  other  problem  of  freedom  was  being 
settled. 

"  Susan  B.  Anthony/' 

Miss  Anthony's  work  here  made  a  permanent  impres- 
sion on  public  thought;  the  personal  hospitality  of  the 
people  meant  a  certain  sort  of  receptivity  of  her  cause, 
for  which  the  war  era  and  the  more  trying  decade  fol- 
lowing it  was  a  period  of  incubation ;  for  unquestionably 
all  times  of  stress  and  effort  and  experience  of  soul 
are  seasons  of  enlargement,  of  suggestion,  and  form  the 
matrix  of  a  new  life.  If  movement  be  once  started  in 
original  cell  structures,  reforming  is  sure,  and  the  new 
species  depends  on  the  character  of  the  environment. 
Heart-rending  and  irremediable  as  were  the  personal 
effects  of  the  war  to  thousands,  there  is  little  doubt  but 
that  it  has  resulted  in  definite  gain  to  the  whole  people, 
by  establishing  a  system  of  self-reliance  in  place  of  re- 
liance upon  the  labor  of  others ;  and  even  more  through 


214  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

the  liberation  of  the  general  mind  from  captivity  to  the 
belief  in  the  ethical  rectitude  of  human  slavery. 

But  it  takes  the  North  a  long  time  to  come  to  any 
true  understanding  of  the  Southern  people.  Certain 
transient,  exterior  features — which  are  as  impermanent 
as  the  conditions  that  created  them — have  been  mis- 
taken for  their  real  character,  which  depends  upon  in- 
dwelling ideals — and  these  have  always  been  thoroughly 
American.  The  leisure  for  thought  and  study  which 
ante-bellum  ease  allowed  to  many  molded  a  high- 
thinking  type  that  was  true  to  the  best  intellectual  and 
Christian  models,  as  the  character  of  Southern  public 
men  has  evidenced.  The  simple  integrity  of  the  South- 
ern ideal  has  had  no  match  in  national  life  except  in 
the  rigid  standard  of  New  England.  Puritan  and 
Huguenot — far  apart  as  they  seem — were  like  founders 
of  the  rugged  righteousness  of  American  principles; 
and  in  so  far  as  we  have  forgotten  our  origin,  has  the 
national  character  lost  its  purity. 

The  love  of  freedom  is  ingrained  in  the  ideals  of  the 
South.  Its  apparent  conservatism  is  not  hostility  to 
the  new  nor  intense  devotion  to  the  old;  it  is  more  an 
inevitable  result  of  thin  population  scattered  over  wide 
areas,  with  little  opportunity  for  the  frequent  and  direct 
contact  which  is  indispensable  to  the  rapid  and  general 
development  of  a  common  idea.  It  is  not  true  that 
Southern  men  are  more  opposed  than  others  to  the  free- 
dom of  women.  The  several  Codes  show  that  the 
Southern  States  were  the  first  to  remove  the  inequality 
of  women  as  to  property  rights.  It  must  also  be  remem- 
bered that  a  vigorous  propaganda  for  the  enfranchise- 


The  Southern  Woman.  215 

ment  of  women  has  been  conducted  for  fifty  years,  at 
great  expense  of  time  and  talent,  all  over  the  North, 
while  it  may  be  said  -to  have  just  begun  in  the  South. 

If  in  1890  any  effort  had  been  made  by  the  National 
American  Woman  Suffrage  Association  to  influence  the 
Constitutional  Convention  then  in  session  in  Mississippi, 
the  woman's  ballot  on  an  educational  basis  might  have 
been  secured.  Henry  Blackwell  was  the  only  promi- 
nent Northern  suffragist  who  seemed  to  have  a  wide- 
open  eye  on  that  convention.  What  he  could  he  did, 
gratis,  to  help  the  cause,  and  won  the  friendship  and 
gratitude  of  many  in  that  State.  The  leading  women 
who  were  applied  to  offered  not  one  word  of  apprecia- 
tion of  the  situation — doubtless  because  they  were  ac- 
customed to  expecting  nothing  good  out  of  Nazareth; 
perhaps  also  because  they  would  not  aid  what  seemed 
an  unrighteous  effort  to  eliminate  the  negro  vote. 

It  is  not  the  first  time  in  suffrage  history  that  the 
white  woman  has  been  sacrificed  to  the  brother  in  black. 
A  political  necessity  brought  within  a  few  votes  the 
political  equality  of  woman.  If  Mississippi  had  then 
settled  the  race  question  on  the  only  statesmanlike  and 
just  plan — by  enfranchising  intelligence  and  disfran- 
chising ignorance — other  States  would  have  followed; 
for  the  South  generally  desires  a  model  for  a  just  and 
legal  white  supremacy— without  the  patent  subterfuge 
of  "grandfather  clauses."  The  heartbreak  of  any  hu- 
man soul  or  cause  is  not  to  have  been  equal  to  its  oppor- 
tunity. The  whole  woman's  movement  is  yet  bearing 
the  consequences  of  that  eclipse  of  vision  ten  years  ago. 

The  first  ground  broken  in  the  cultivation  of  greater 


216  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

privileges  for  Louisiana  women  was  the  organization  of 
the  Woman's  Club  of  New  Orleans.  In  1884 — as  nar- 
rated in  its  history  prepared  for  the  World's  Columbian 
Exposition — in  response  to  a  notice  in  the  New  Orleans 
Times-Democrat,  twelve  women  met  in  the  parlor  of 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  and  organized 
the  first  Woman's  Club  in  the  South. 

Miss  Elizabeth  Bisland,  now  Mrs.  Charles  W.  Wet- 
more  of  New  York,  was  its  first  president.  Miss  Bis- 
land  had  already  earned  fair  fame  in  literature,  and  the 
South  was  justly  proud  of  her.  She  afterwards  chal- 
lenged the  world's  notice  by  her  swift  girdling  of  the 
globe  in  the  interest  of  the  Cosmopolitan  Magazine. 
The  charter  members  of  the  pioneer  club  were  of  the 
heroic  type,  and  amid  fluctuations  of  hope  and  despair, 
forced  on  by  the  irresistible  spirit  of  the  age,  founded 
a  society  which  numbered  its  members  by  hundreds,  and 
which  secured  and  retained  the  sympathy  and  respect  of 
the  people. 

The  Constitution  provided  at  first  only  for  working 
women,  but  afterward  eliminated  this  restriction.  It 
stated  that,  evolved  as  it  was  from  a  progressive  civili- 
zation, its  movements  must  be  elastic,  its  work  versa- 
tile and  comprehensive.  It  estimated  its  own  scope  as 
follows :  "  The  vital  and  influential  work  of  our  club 
must  always  be  along  sociological  lines.  The  term  em- 
braces pursuits  of  study  and  pastime,  our  labors  and  re- 
laxations. In  the  aggregate  we  are  breaking  down  and 
removing  barriers  of  local  prejudice;  we  are  assisting 
intellectual  growth  and  spiritual  ambition  in  the  com- 
munity of  which  we  are  a  dignified  and  effective  body — 


The  Southern  Woman.  217 

for  the  immense  economy  of  moral  force  made  possible 
by  a  permanent  organization  such  as  ours,  is  well  under- 
stood by  the  thoughtful."  It  extended  hospitality  in 
the  public  recognition  of  extraordinary  achievements  by 
women,  and  helped  to  bring  aspirants  in  art,  literature 
and  sociology  before  appreciative  audiences,  and  intro- 
duced to  New  Orleans  many  world-renowned  women 
and  men. 

Being  the  first  woman's  club  in  the  South  it  was  the 
subject  of  peculiar  interest  and  attention  from  other 
organizations  of  women,  and  was  wise  enough,  from  the 
beginning,  to  ally  itself  with  the  general  movement. 
Its  delegate  was  a  conspicuous  part  of  the  National 
Convention  of  Women's  Clubs,  held  in  New  York  in 
1889,  under  the  auspices  of  Sorosis;  in  1892  it  was 
represented  in  the  Convention  of  Federated  Clubs,  in 
Chicago,  by  its  president  and  delegate,  and  was  present 
in  the  General  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs  in  1894. 
It  was  the  host,  in  connection  with  Portia  Club,  in  1895, 
of  the  "  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Women," 
which  enjoyed  for  a  week  the  novelty  of  the  Crescent 
City  and  its  environs.         '  '  ' 

Through  its  initiation,  matrons  were  placed  in  station 
houses  and  a  bed  was  furnished  in  the  "  Women's  and 
Children's  Hospital."  It  petitioned  for  a  revocation  of 
Mrs.  Maybrick's  sentence,  and  distributed  rations  to  the 
sufferers  in  the  great  overflows  of  the  Mississippi  and 
Texas  rivers.  It  is  clearly  manifest  from  the  foregoing 
that  the  Woman's  Club  was  the  initial  step  of  whatever 
progression  women  have  made  through  subsequent  or- 
ganizations. 


218  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

Following  the  enlarging  influence  of  the  New  Orleans 
Exposition  in  1885--86,  there  came  the  great  contest  to 
oyerthrow  the  Louisiana  State  Lottery.  The  whole 
energy  of  the  church  and  every  citizen  was  called  into 
action  all  over  the  State.  Women's  Lottery  Leagues 
were  formed  in  every  town, — that  in  New  Orleans 
numbering  900  members ;  it  was  denominated  "  the 
crowning  influence  that  resulted  in  victory."  It  is 
impossible  to  overestimate  the  liberative  value  for 
woman  of  this  struggle  brought  to  a  successful  issue; 
or  to  reckon  how  far  back  into  inertia  she  would  have 
been  thrown  by  defeat;  for  the  first  time  in  our  post- 
bellum  history  it  united  women  of  all  classes  and  ages 
in  a  common  moral  and  political  battle-ground.  The 
federal  anti-lottery  law  which  has  secured  the  results 
of  this  victory  may  prove  to  be  an  invaluable  precedent 
for  anti-trust  legislation. 

In  1892,  in  response  to  my  invitation,  some  of  the 
strong,  progressive  and  intellectual  women  of  New 
Orleans  were  ready  to  meet  at  my  house  and  or- 
ganize the  first  suffrage  association  in  Louisiana. 
It  was  formed  with  nine  members,  and  was  called 
the  "  Portia  Club."  The  officers  were  Mrs.  Caro- 
line E.  Merrick,  president;  Mrs.  Jas.  M.  Fergu- 
son, vice-president;  Mrs.  Evelyn  Ordway,  treasurer. 
Through  its  influence  Governor  Foster  appointed  four 
women  on  the  school  'boards  of  some  of  the  Northern 
parishes  of  Louisiana.  It  has  done  excellent  educational 
work  by  the  discussion  of  such  subjects  as  "  Is  the  Wo- 
man in  the  Wage-earning  World  a  Benefit  to  Civiliza- 
tion ?  "    "  Is  Organization  Beneficial  to  Labor  ?  "    "  Has 


The  Southern  Woman.  219 

the  State  of  Wyoming  been  Benefited  by  Woman  Suf- 
frage ?  "  "  Would  Municipal  Suffrage  for  Women  be  a 
Benefit  in  New  Orleans  ?  "  "  The  Initiative  and  Kef  er- 
endum;"  "The  Eepublic  of  Venice;"  "Disabilities 
of  Women  in  Louisiana."  The  Portias  have  maintained 
a  leading  part  in  all  public  causes  that  have  enlisted 
women,  and  in  the  interests  of  full  suffrage  were  heard 
by  the  Suffrage  Committee  of  the  Constitutional  Con- 
vention of  1898. 

On  the  occasion  of  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony's  seven- 
tieth birthday,  a  reception  at  my  house  brought  to- 
gether not  only  those  favorable  to  our  undertaking  but 
many  whom  it  was  desirable  to  enlist.  When  that  gen- 
tle-faced, lion-hearted  pioneer,  Lucy  Stone,  yielded  up 
her  beautiful,  self-effacing  life,  the  Portia  Club  held  a 
fitting  memorial  service.  Mrs.  Clara  C.  Hoffman  made 
a  most  memorable  suffrage  address  for  the  Portias  in 
this  city,  which  aroused  tremendous  enthusiasm.  She 
lectured  extensively  elsewhere  in  the  State,  and  wrote 
to  me  as  follows  after  her  visit  here :  "  It  is  generally 
claimed  that  Southern  people  are  conservative  and  bit- 
terly opposed  to  any  mention  of  equal  suffrage.  In  my 
recent  tour  I  found  them  not  only  willing  but  anxious 
to  hear  the  subject  discussed.  I  came  into  Louisiana 
at  the  request  of  the  Woman's  Christian  Temperance 
Union  Convention,  and  had  been  informed  that  I  must 
not  say  anything  about  suffrage,  as  the  people  would  not 
bear  it.  In  my  first  address  I  reviewed  the  hindering 
causes  that  delay  and  prevent  the  establishment  of 
needed  reforms,  and  showed  the  danger  of  enfranchis- 
ing all  the  vice  and  ignorance  in  the  land  without  seek- 


220  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

ing  to  counteract  it;  but  I  said  not  a  word  about  what 
the  counteractant  might  be.  The  convention  closed 
with  Sunday  services;  but  before  the  day  was  gone  I 
received  an  invitation  from  leading  citizens — profes- 
sional and  business  men — to  speak  in  the  Opera  House 
in  Shreveport  at  their  expense,  on  Monday  night,  on 
woman  suffrage.  A  packed  audience  greeted  me  when 
I  was  cordially  introduced  by  a  prominent  lawyer.  I 
presented  arguments,  answered  objections.  Eound 
after  round  of  applause  interrupted,  and  many  crowded 
about  at  the  close,  expressing  themselves  with  utmost 
warmth.     How  is  that  for  Shreveport,  and  Louisiana  ?  " 

Later  Mrs.  Hoffman  spoke  at  Mjonroe  and  Lake 
Charles  with  equal  acceptance.  One  of  our  city  papers 
said  of  her :  "  Mrs.  Hoffman  entered  bravely  upon  her 
subject,  interspersing  her  remarks  with  delicious  bits  of 
witticism.  She  is  a  forcible  and  brilliant  speaker,  a 
radical  of  the  radicals,  but  disarms  by  her  clear,  genial 
manner  of  presenting  truth." 

Besides  the  women's  societies  in  the  various  churches, 
which  have  done  so  much  to  widen  the  field  of  woman's 
thought  and  endeavor,  the  Arena  Club  of  New  Orleans, 
under  the  leadership  of  Mrs.  James  M.  Ferguson,  has 
been  a  vital  force.  While  tacitly  endorsing  suffrage,  it 
advances  social,  political  and  economic  questions  of  the 
day.  Its  latest  efforts  have  been  to  create  sentiment  for 
anti-trust  legislation. 

There  has  been  a  valuable  period  of  training  through 
Auxiliaries.  Every  great  movement,  social  and  relig- 
ious, had  its  Woman's  Auxiliary.  These  helped  to  re- 
veal to  woman  her  own  capacities  and  her  utter  want  of 


The  Southern  Woman.  221 

power.  But  the  day  of  the  Auxiliary  is  done.  If 
some  of  the  auxiliary  women  have  not  yet  found  out 
what  woman  ought  to  do,  they  have  discovered  the  next 
best  thing — what  not  to  do ! 

In  1895  an  amicable  division  of  the  Portia  Club  was 
made,  the  offshoot  becoming  the  Era  Club — Equal  Rights 
Association.  It  was  a  vigorous  child,  full  of  progressive 
energy,  and  soon  outgrew  its  mother.  Its  original 
members,  like  the  Portia,  were  nine,  as  follows:  Mmes. 
Ferguson,  Ordway,  Hereford,  Pierce,  Misses  Brewer, 
Brown,  Koppel,  Nobles,  Van  Horn.  At  this  junc- 
ture Miss  Anthony,  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Carrie  Chap- 
man Catt,  strengthened  our  hearts  and  cause  by  her 
presence.  It  was  again  my  privilege  to  entertain 
her  in  my  home.  She  spoke  to  an  enthusiastic  audience 
and  Mrs.  Catt  was  complimented  in  the  same  way. 
The  next  morning  the  following  letter  from  a  leading 
member  of  the  New  Orleans  bar  was  brought  to  Miss 
Anthony  by  a  member  of  the  Portia  Club :  "  That  was 
a  great  meeting  last  night.  When  people  are  willing  to 
stand  for  three  long  hours  and  listen  to  speakers  it  means 
something.  There  were  ten  or  twelve  men  and  a  score 
of  women  standing  within  ten  feet  of  me,  and  not  one 
of  them  who  did  not  remain  to  the  end.  There  are  few 
men  who  can  hold  an  audience  in  that  way.  I  looked 
around  the  Assembly  Hall  and  counted  near  me  eight 
of  my  legal  confreres,  One  of  the  most  distinguished 
lawyers  in  the  State  told  me  in  court  this  morning  that 
Mrs.  Catt's  argument  was  one  of  the  finest  speeches  he 
had  ever  listened  to.  Yesterday  I  was  asked  at  dinner 
to  define  the  word  '  oratory.'     Mrs.  Catt  is  an  exponent 


222  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

of  '  the  art  of  moving  human  hearts  to  beat  in  unison 
with  her  own ' — which  is  the  end  and  aim  of  oratory, — 
and  was  that  quality  which  made  the  Athenians 
who  heard  Demosthenes  declare  that  they  would 
( fight  Philip.'  Give  the  speaker  a  lawyer's  compli- 
ments." 

Miss  Anthony  was  much  moved  by  this  letter.  "  All 
this,"  she  said,  "  is  so  much  sweeter  than  the  ridicule 
that  used  to  come  to  me  in  those  early  days  when  I 
stood  alone." 

Committees  from  the  Portia  and  Era  Clubs  met  in 
November,  1896,  in  the  parlors  of  the  Woman's  Club, 
and  organized  a  State  Woman  Suffrage  Association, 
with  Mrs.  Caroline  E.  Merrick,  president;  Mrs.  Eveleyn 
Ordway,  vice-president;  Miss  Matilda  P.  Hero,  corre- 
sponding secretary;  Miss  Belle  Van  Horn,  recording 
secretary ;  Mrs.  Boseley,  treasurer ;  Mrs.  Helen  Behrens, 
an  ardent  and  able  pioneer  and  present  worker  in  the 
cause,  being  made  our  first  delegate  to  a  National  Con- 
vention. 

In  1898,  the  Era  Club,  in  the  name  of  Louisiana 
women,  presented  to  the  Suffrage  Committee  of  the 
Constitutional  Convention,  then  in  session  in  New  Or- 
leans, the  following  petition :  "  In  view  of  the  fact  that 
one  of  the  purposes  of  this  Convention  is  to  provide  an 
educational  qualification  for  the  exercise  of  the  fran- 
chise by  which  to  guard  more  carefully  the  welfare  of 
the  State,  we,  the  undersigned,  believing  that  still  an- 
other change  would  likewise  conduce  greatly  to  the  wel- 
fare of  our  people,  pray  that  your  honorable  body  will, 
after  deciding  upon  the  qualifications  deemed  necessary, 


The  Southern  Woman.  223 

extend  the  franchise  with  the  same  qualifications  to  the 
women  of  this  State/' 

Mrs.  Evelyn  Ordway,  one  of  the  most  efficient  and 
public-spirited  women  of  New  Orleans,  as  president  of 
the  Era  Club,  wisely  and  bravely  led  the  women's  cam- 
paign. Owing  to  a  rain  which  flooded  the  city,  the  most 
of  the  woman's  contingent  were  prisoners  in  their  homes 
on  the  day  the  petition  was  procured.  Mrs.  Lewis  S. 
Graham,  and  Misses  Katharine  Nobles,  Kate  and  Jennie 
Gordon  alone  were  able  to  cross  the  submerged  streets 
to  the  Committee  room.  Mrs.  Graham  made  the  lead- 
ing address,  and  was  ably  supported  by  her  colleagues. 
Mrs.  Carrie  Chapman-Catt,  aided  by  Misses  Laura 
Clay,  Mary  Hay  and  Frances  Griffin,  had  been  busy 
creating  public  sentiment  by  means  of  brilliant  ad- 
dresses both  in  and  out  of  the  Convention.  Dr.  Dick- 
son Bruns  should  be  ever  held  in  grateful  memory  for 
his  constant  and  unflinching  efforts  in  behalf  of  the 
woman's  petition,  which  was  presented  in  Convention 
by  the  Hon.  Anthony  W.  Faulkner  of  Monroe. 

There  were  many  women  and  a  few  noble  men  who 
were  deeply  stirred  over  the  fate  of  our  memorial.  I 
wrote  to  Miss  Belle  Kearney  just  after  this  hearing: 
"  You  are  needed  right  here,  this  very  day,  to  speak  what 
the  women  want  said  for  them  now  that  the  other  speak- 
ers are  gone  away.  I  am  so  dead  tired  and  heart-sore 
that  I  almost  wish  I  were  lying  quiet  in  my  grave 
waiting  for  the  resurrection!  God  help  all  women, 
young  and  old!  They  are  a  man-neglected,  God-for- 
gotten lot,  here  in  Louisiana,  when  they  ask  simply  for 
a  reasonable  recognition,  and  justice  under  the  Consti- 


224  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

tution  now  being  constructed,  and  under  which  they 
must  be  governed  and  pay  taxes.  We  pray  in  vain, 
work  always  in  vain.  How  that  grand  old  martyr, 
Susan  Anthony,  can  still  hold  out  is  a  marvel.  The 
Convention  has  apparently  forgotten  the  women.  They 
discuss  the  needs  of  every  man  and  his  qualification  for 
the  ballot.  Yet,  good  women  brought  such  men  into  the 
world  to  keep  other  women  in  subjection  and  minority 
forever ! — still,  they  love  that  sinner,  man,  better  than 
their  own  souls — and  I  know  they  will  continue  that 
way  to  the  end.  But  it  is  hard  lines  to  be  kept  waiting. 
The  dead  can  wait,  but  we  cannot!  Oh,  Lord,  how 
long!" 

Once  again,  however,  it  was  proven  that  nothing  is 
ever  quite  so  bad  as  it  seems,  for  the  convention  did 
give  the  right  to  vote  to  all  taxpaying  women — a  mere 
crumb — but  a  prophetic-crumb.  This  much  being  gained 
led,  in  1899,  to  the  organization,  through  the  initiative 
of  the  Era  Club,  of  the  "  Woman's  League  for  Sewer- 
age and  Drainage."  That  variable  and  imponderable 
quantity,  "  influence,"  now  had  added  to  its  much  in- 
voked "  womanly  sweetness  " — power — a  power  which 
could  not  only  be  felt  but  which  would  have  to  be 
counted. 

Mrs.  Ordway  tells  in  a  little  review  of  the  movement, 
that  several  months  previous  to  the  election  many  of 
those  who  voted  would  have  scouted  the  idea  that  they 
should  do  so  unwomanly  a  deed; — voting  belonged  to 
men.  Many  did  not  even  know  that  they  had  a  right  to 
vote.  The  question  proposed  to  them  was  one  affecting 
(the  health  and  prosperity  of  New  Orleans — whether  or 


The  Southern  Woman.  225 

not  they  were  willing  to  be  additionally  taxed  in  order 
to  secure  pure  water  and  an  effective  system  of  drainage. 
There  were  about  10,000  taxpaying  women  in  the  city, 
many  of  them  small  householders,  owning  the  little 
homes  in  which  they  dwelt.  Owing  to  New  Orleans 
being  peculiarly  situated  below  the  level  of  the  Missis- 
sippi river,  and  to  the  fact  that  there  is  no  under- 
ground drainage,  many  parts  of  the  city  are  inundated 
during  heavy  rains.  There  was  much  at  stake.  No 
wonder  the  women  were  interested,  and  that  parlor  and 
mass  meetings  were  held,  in  which  women  were  not 
only  invited  but  urged — even  by  the  mayor  and  other 
prominent  men — to  come  forward  with  their  votes. 
When  election  day  arrived,  women  found  that  they  did 
want  the  franchise,  one-third  of  the  votes  cast  being 
contributed  by  them.  After  months  of  hard  work  and 
a  house-to-house  canvass  for  signatures  of  taxpaying 
women,  who  would  vote  personally  or  by  proxy,  the 
battle  was  won,  as  was  universally  conceded,  by  the 
energy  of  the  woman's  ballot. 

Very  many  men  and  women  soon  realized  the  need  of 
full  suffrage  for  women,  in  a  quickly  succeeding  cam- 
paign for  the  election  of  municipal  officers  who  would 
properly  carry  out  the  people's  intent  for  sewerage  and 
drainage.  Though  they  could  not  vote  every  courtesy 
and  respect  was  accorded  the  women,  and  their  influence 
was  appealed  to  by  the  respective  sides.  The  day  has 
dawned  for  woman's  full  enfranchisement  in  Louisiana. 

In  her  farewell  address  after  the  victory  the  president 
of  the  Woman's  League,  Miss  Kate  M.  Gordon, — presi- 
dent of   the  Era   Club, — who    had   led   the   women's 


226  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

forces  with  an  intelligent  courage  and  dignity  that  won 
universal  admiration,  stated  as  follows:  "At  one  time 
the  success  of  this  great  work  was  seriously  threatened 
by  an  element  of  conservatism  raising  the  cry,  '  It  is 
simply  suffrage  movement ! '  While  it  is  hard  to  dis- 
associate suffrage  from  any  work  which  depends  on  a 
vote  for  success,  and  while  the  word,  denned  by  "Worces- 
ter, means  '  a  vote,  the  act  of  voting,'  yet  it  seems  a 
poor  commentary  on  the  intelligence,  patriotism  and 
even  sagacity  of  that  conservatism  to  raise  the  question 
when  the  life  of  a  city  was  trembling  in  the  balance, 
and  that  city  their  home. 

"  In  justice  to  women  holding  suffrage  views,  I  ask 
are  they  to  be  treated  as  a  class  apart  because  they  be- 
lieve intelligence  and  not  sex  should  be  the  determining 
power  in  government?  Is  there  any  wrong  in  believ- 
ing that  power  added  to  influence  would  be  a  factor  in 
creating  and  enforcing  laws  for  a  higher  moral  stand- 
ard? Where  is  the  woman,  who.  holding  the  power, 
would  not  use  it  to  enforce  the  laws  for  the  protection 
of  minors,  and  to  give  to  character  at  least  the  same 
protection  given  to  property  ?  Where  is  the  woman  who 
would  withhold  her  power  from  creating  and  enforcing 
a  law  to  read ;  '  Equal  pay  for  equal  work  '  ?  Is  it  un- 
womanly to  believe  the  wife's  wages  should  belong  to 
the  wife  who  earned  them?  Is  it  unnatural  to  resent 
being  classed  with  idiots,  insane,  criminal  and  minors — 
and  so  on,  ad  infinitum? 

"  The  Woman's  League  contributed  with  no  sacrifice 
of  womanliness,  but  with  a  sacrifice  of  personal  com- 
fort, to  an  education  against  apathy  and  indifference, 


The  Southern  Woman.  227 

to  the  Godlike  charity  of  helping  men  to  help  them- 
selves— the  keynote  of  physical  as  well  as  moral  re- 
generation. As  women  throw  the  power  of  your  in- 
fluence against  the  dangers  of  proxies.  The  proxy 
vote  is  not  a  personal  expression ;  it  is  giving  manifold 
power  into  the  hands  of  one  individual,  and  therefore 
un-American." 

This  wide-awake  Era  Club  has  now  a  petition  before 
the  trustees  of  Tulane  University  praying  that  this  pro- 
gressive institution  will  no  longer  refuse  to  open  its 
Medical  School  to  women.  It  also  memorialized  its  last 
legislature  for  the  right  to  be  accorded  to  women  to 
witness  a  legal  document ;  for,  incredible  as  it  may  seem, 
there  still  remains  among  Louisiana  statutes,  as  a  sur- 
vival of  the  French  habit  of  thought,  toward  females, 
the  disability  of  a  woman  to  sign  a  paper  as  a  witness. 

Soon  after  the  New  Orleans  Exposition,  Miss  Susan 
B.  Anthony  wrote  me,  while  I  was  president  of  the 
Louisiana  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union :  "  I 
long  to  see  the  grand  hosts  of  the  Temperance  women 
of  this  nation  standing  as  a  unit  demanding  the  one 
and  only  weapon  that  can  smite  to  the  heart  the  liquor- 
traffic.  The  Kansas  women's  first  vote  has  sent  worse 
terror  to  the  soul  of  the  whisky  alliance  of  the  nation 
than  it  ever  knew  before."  The  temperance  hosts 
through  bitter  defeats  long  ago  learned  that  they  can- 
not carry  their  cause  without  the  ballot,  and  "  as  a 
unit "  they  may  be  said  to  desire  it  and  to  work  for  it. 
They  know  Miss  Anthony  spoke  words  of  soberness  and 
experience.  The  first  day  there  was  a  great  debate,  in 
the  Constitutional  Convention  of  our  neighbor  State,  on 


228  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

methods  of  suffrage,  about  the  middle  of  the  day  some 
one  met  a  pale,  haggard  prince  of  liquor  dealers  rush- 
ing excitedly  from  the  gates  of  the  Capital.  "  My  God  ! 
he  exclaimed,  "  if  they  let  the  women  in  our  business 
is  dead !  We  must  do  something !  " — and  he  hurried 
to  convene  his  partners  in  iniquity.  "What  they  did  is 
not  proclaimed;  but  immediately  nearly  every  news- 
paper in  the  State  began  to  pour  in  gatling-gun  volleys 
against  enfranchising  women. 

About  the  time  Miss  Anthony  wrote  me  respecting 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton  coming  to  lecture.  "  I 
do  not  want  her,"  she  said,  "  to  be  translated  before 
all  of  your  splendid  New  Orleans  women  have  seen  and 
heard  her."  And  so  I  feel  about  Miss  Anthony,  I  do 
not  want  her  "  to  be  translated  "  until  she  has  seen  the 
Louisiana  woman  vote  as  unrestrictedly  as  the  Louis- 
iana man. 

But  I  should  like  to  ask  this  question  of  those  men 
and  women — and  there  are  many  such — who  are  con- 
vinced of  the  righteousness  of  the  women's  ballot,  but 
who  do  not  come  forward  and  strengthen  the  struggling 
vanguard  of  a  great  movement, — 

"  Why  is  it  that  you  choose  to  blow 

Your  bugle  in  the  rear  ? 
The  helper  is  the  man  divine 

Who  tells  us  something  new  ; — 
The  man  who  tells  us  something  new 

And  points  the  road  ahead  ; 
Whose  tent  is  with  the  forward  few — 

And  not  among  the  dead. 
You  spy  not  what  the  future  holds, 

A-bugling  in  the  rear. 
You're  harking  back  to  times  outworn, 

A-bugling  in  the  rear." 


CHAPTEE  XX. 
"the  best  is  yet  to  be/' 

Why  should  women  regret  the  golden  period  of 
youth?  There  are  things  finer  and  more  precious  than 
inexperience  and  a  fair  face.  When  a  friend  of  Pe- 
trarch bemoaned  the  age  revealed  in  his  white  temples, 
he  replied :  "  Nay,  be  sorry  rather  that  ever  I  was 
young,  to  be  a  fool.''  Joyous  and  lovely  as  youth  is — 
and  it  always  seems  a  pity  to  be  old  in  the  springtime 
when  everything  else  is  young — how  many  of  us  would 
be  willing  to  be  again  in  the  bonds  of  crudities,  the  em- 
barrassments, the  unreasoning  agonies,  and  to  the  false 
values  youth  ever  sets  upon  life  ?  Youth  longs  for  and 
cries  out  after  happiness;  it  would  wrest  it  from  the 
world  as  its  divine  birthright;  it  does  not  understand 
itself  or  anybody  else ;  and  the  pity  of  it  all  is  that  youth 
is  gone  before  it  has  grasped  the  fact  that  its  chief  con- 
cern is  not  to  be  loved  but  to  be  lovely. 

Age  is  content  with  comfort.  "  Content,"  did  I  say  ? 
Nay,  old  folks  are  always  wanting  more  and  more  com- 
fort, until  they  seem  out  of  harmony  with  surrounding 
objects  and  circumstances.  I  think  it  is  Ruskin  who 
says  that  there  are  "  much  sadder  days  than  the  early 
ones;  not  sadder  in  a  noble,  deep  way,  but  in  a  dim, 

wearied  way — the  way  of  ennui  and  jaded  intellect. 

229 


230  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

The  Romans  had  their  life  interwoven  with  white  and 
purple;  the  life  of  the  aged  is  one  seamless  stuff  of 
brown."  And  this  is  true,  so  far  as  beauty  of  existence 
is  expressed  by  variety. 

Perhaps  there  are  few  periods  of  keener  suffering  to 
any  one  than  when  he  first  realizes  that  he  is  growing 
old.  This  experience  is  none  the  less  sharp  for  being 
universal;  but  it  comes  with  peculiar  poignancy  to  a 
woman,  because  of  the  fictitious  estimate  that  has 
always  been  placed  upon  her  good  looks.  They  are 
her  highest  stock  in  the  market,  not  through  her  own 
valuation  but  by  man's.  If  she  has  never  had  beauty, 
still  less  can  she  afford  to  lose  any  charm  which  youth 
alone  confers.  This  pain  of  loss  with  the  majority  of 
women  is  not  an  expression  of  mere  vanity,  but — as  with 
a  man — it  arises  from  a  fear  of  waning  power,  the 
dread  of  inability  any  longer  to  be  a  factor  in  the 
world's  value;  from  the  horror  of  having  no  longer  an 
aptness  to  attract,  of  being  no  more  desired,  of  filling 
no  true  place  in  life — any  or  all  of  which  is  enough  to 
make  a  soul  cry  out  for  death. 

That  there  is  something  wrong  with  our  social  struc- 
ture is  not  more  surely  indicated  than  by  the  present 
demand  in  all  fields  of  labor  for  only  the  young  man  or 
woman.  The  span  of  life  is  perceptibly  lengthening  for 
most  civilized  peoples;  yet,  with  increase  of  days,  old 
age  is  set  forward  instead  of  being  proportionally  post- 
poned. Thirty  years  ago  it  was  considered  that  a  man 
must  make  his  success  by  fifty  years  of  age,  if  he  made 
it  at  all ;  now  it  is  said  that  unless  a  man  has  made  his 
mark  at  thirty  he  is  already  written  down  "  a  back 


"The  Best  is  Yet  to  Be."  231 

number."  No  profession  to-day,  perhaps,  chronicles  so 
many  tragedies  as  that  of  the  teacher;  for  school  and 
college  give  the  preference  to  the  young  applicant  who 
has  yet  to  prove  if  he  have  the  making  of  a  teacher  in 
him,  while  rejected  experience  dies  of  a  broken  heart. 
Not  long  since,  it  was  stated  in  The  Outlook,  in  reference 
to  the  ministry,  that  a  man  over  forty  years  old  was 
not  wanted  to  fill  important  charges.  Last  year  I  heard 
a  conversation  between  a  young  missionary  from  China 
and  a  woman  of  superior  attainments,  a  wide  knowledge 
of  life,  high  spiritual  culture,  and  who  was  not  yet  old ; 
who,  moreover,  was  one  of  the  sort  who  never  grow  old. 
They  talked  of  the  advisability  of  older  women  enter- 
ing the  foreign  mission  field.  The  missionary  advised 
that  the  other  make  application  to  the  Board,  but 
frankly  stated  that  the  missionaries  abroad  did  not  wish 
anybody  of  her  age  because  she  would  have  established 
opinions  which  might  conflict  with  the  younger  mem- 
bers' control  of  the  mission.  The  church  no  doubt  can 
well  account  for  its  preference  for  young  people;  but 
it  has  seemed  to  me  rather  hard  on  the  heathen  that 
they  must  be  the  subjects  of  untested  enthusiasm,  how- 
ever "  consecrated  "  and  zealous  it  may  be. 

The  tendency  to  fasten  old  age  prematurely  on  our 
people  by  the  rejection  of  practical  knowledge  for  the 
brawn  of  youth,  seems  to  find  an  explanation  mainly 
in  the  all-prevailing  commercialism  of  the  day.  The 
herding  of  productive  industries  in  syndicates  and 
trusts  has  destroyed  the  individual  in  the  industrial 
world :  it  is  not  the  man  who  is  employed,  but  "  the 
hand " — so  many  hands  in  the  office,  so  many  at  the 


232  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

machine ;  and  these  are  "  put  on  or  knocked  off  "  ac- 
cording to  the  sum  totals  of  the  ledger.  Manhood  is 
the  football  of  the  dividend,  and  grows  less  and  less  as 
the  latter  grows  more  and  more.  Everywhere  it  is  the 
same;  the  young  with  few  ties  and  responsibilities  are 
most  plastic  to  the  interests  of  the  business;  pawns 
have  widest  range  of  movement,  and  whoever  can  cover 
the  most  ground  for  the  least  money  is  the  person  in 
demand. 

"  Trade  !  is  thy  heart  all  dead,  all  dead  ? 

And  hast  thou  nothing  but  a  head  ? 

O  Trade  !    O  Trade  !  would  thou  wert  dead  I 
The  time  needs  heart — 'tis  tired  of  head." 

It  is  more  than  shocking  to  think  of  the  effects  on  the 
English-speaking  people — ever  inclined  to  sadness — of 
saddening  them  still  more  by  pushing  into  the  back- 
ground those  who  have  passed  the  first  flush  of  youthful 
vigor.  It  is  even  worse  to  reflect  upon  the  over-confi- 
dence, the  over-consciousness  and  the  irreverence  of 
youth  increased  by  a  preference  which  does  not  point  to 
intrinsic  value.  Whoever  has  lost  his  reverence  is  al- 
ready degenerate;  that  soul  which  has  lost  hope  and 
courage  is  dead  to  achievement,  and  is  unproductive 
for  himself  and  his  country.  Let  us  give  to  youth  all 
its  due  for  its  keen  curiosity,  its  vivid  expectation,  its 
unreflecting  daring,  its  joy  of  pure  existence,  its  all- 
the-world-is-mine  spirit,  and  let  us  give  it  opportunity 
and  ever  growing  privilege;  but,  as  we  value  reverence, 
as  we  honor  knowledge,  as  we  cherish  a  well-tried  faith, 
as  we  trust  a  noble  courage  born  of  proof,  let  our 


"The  Best  is  Yet  to  Be."  233 

customs  teach  that  "Youth  ended — what  survives  is 
gold." 

While  so  much  that  is  beautiful  and  attractive  in- 
heres in  youth,  it  is  maturity  that  possesses  perfect 
charm.  Women  should  remember  this  and  begin  early 
to  cultivate  faith  in  their  power  to  grow.  They  should 
endeavor  to  learn  to  live  along  a  line  of  steady  devel- 
opment; to  keep  themselves  in  the  forefront  of  thought 
and  endeavor;  to  repudiate  old  age  as  more  a  matter 
of  want  of  will  than  of  necessity — and  so  abjure  a 
statement  I  have  recently  heard  from  a  young  physician 
— that  the  only  disease  for  which  there  is  no  remedy  is 
old  age.  There  is  a  remedy  in  living  en  rapport  with 
the  subtle  forces  of  growth.  Learn  the  laws  of  life 
and  dwell  in  them;  persevere  in  helping  one's  self  in- 
stead of  being  helped,  and  it  will  astonish  the  world 
how  long  one  may  live  with  "  natural  force  unabated  " 
— yes,  and  with  beauty  and  power.  It  is  unnatural  to 
grow  old  and  die;  though  everybody  seems  to  do  it,  the 
bitter  protest  against  it  is  a  proof  that  it  is  against 
nature.  There  must  be  a  better  way  out  than  by  failure 
and  decay.  Live  as  an  immortal  here  and  now,  and  in 
fulness  of  time  the  fetters  of  the  flesh  will  simply  drop 
off,  like  the  shell  of  a  locust,  and  life  will  go  on — from 
glory  to  glory. 

I  have  grown  old  myself,  but  I  could  have  kept 
younger  if  my  attention  had  early  enough  been  turned 
that  way.  All  that  I  can  do  now  is  to  tell  other  women 
to  be  wiser  than  I  have  been — and  I  wish  to  tell  them, 

for: 

"  The  best  things  any  mortal  hath 
Are  those  which  every  mortal  shares." 


234  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

Perhaps  all  women  do  not  know  that  the  menopause 
of  life  is  not  a  signal  for  old  age.  Keleased  from  her 
child-bearing  functions,  a  new  lease  of  life  is  taken  out ; 
intellectual  power  is  greatly  increased;  women  should 
then,  in  the  ripeness  of  experience,  the  mellowness  of 
judgment  and  the  opportunity  for  comparison  which 
the  years  have  conferred,  do  their  best  brain-work;  be- 
sides, there  is  usually  an  added  beauty  of  person,  a  re- 
newal of  vigor  of  every  kind.  At  the  same  time — just 
as  then  the  look  of  some  ancestor  we  have  not  befoie 
been  thought  to  resemble  begins  to  crop  out  in  our 
faces — is  there  a  tendency  toward  the  return  of  natural 
defects  of  character;  faults  of  youth  long  deemed  dead 
rise  up  and  defy  us.  As  never  before  should  women  be 
aware  that  now  their  charms  must  be  those  of  an  inner 
grace,  a  spiritual  beauty;  as  they  have  received  during 
all  the  long  past,  so  now  must  they  give  out  fully, 
freely — keeping  back  not  one  jot  or  tittle  of  life's  riches 
for  self;  so  will  they  get  very  close  to  the  other  world 
before  they  get  in  it. 

Women  have  always  interested  me.  I  have  studied 
them  deeply.  They  have  virtues  and  foibles  which  are 
equally  a  surprise — "  and  still  the  wonder  grows." 
After  a  long  lifetime  of  comparison,  however,  I  am 
persuaded  that  men  and  women  are  by  nature  neither 
better  nor  worse  the  one  than  the  other.  How  often  do 
we  find  some  boy  to  be  the  sweetest-souled  child  in  the 
house  and  the  timidest,  while  his  sister  is  the  strongest, 
most  unmanageable,  and  the  leading  spirit.  We  are 
our  father's  daughters  and  our  mother's  sons;  and 
superiority  of  either — in  mind,  person  or  morals — is  as 


"The  Best  is  Yet  to  Be."  235 

it  happens  and  not  by  reason  of  sex.  Many  differences 
are  but  the  results  of  education  and  would  disappear 
should  the  two  sexes  be  treated  under  identical  influ- 
ences. Many  so-called  virtues  of  women  and  vices  of 
men  are  but  the  fruits  of  environment  and  of  the  tone 
of  the  public  thought. 

The  shielded.,  subject  position  of  woman  has  origi- 
nated as  many  weaknesses  in  her  as  excellences.  She 
is  the  victim  of  her  own  devotion,  as  well  as  of  her  neces- 
sity to  please  the  one  on  whom  she  and  her  children  are 
dependent.  If  she  is  illogical,  as  is  claimed,  it  is  only 
because  her  deductions  have  not  generally  been  made 
the  rule  of  action  in  private  or  public.  It  were  futile 
to  run  down  a  proposition  to  its  legitimate  conclusion 
when  somebody  else's  conclusions  are  to  be  in  force.  A 
man's  deductions  have  to  stand  the  test  of  actual  prac- 
tice, and  not  only  he  but  all  dependent  on  him  must 
sink  or  swim  by  their  correctness.  The  logic  of  the 
condition  is  simply  that  of  the  trained  and  the  un- 
trained— as  may  be  proven  by  the  fact  that  propor- 
tionally as  many  women  as  men  who  have  been  thrown 
into  business  or  professional  life  succeed.  If  women 
are  not  frank,  as  is  sometimes  charged,  let  me  ask  how 
any  one  can  cultivate  the  high  grace  of  ingenuousness 
who  in  all  the  ages  past  had  to  gain  her  ends  by  indirec- 
tion, and  who  may  utter  not  her  own  thought  and  opin- 
ion and  will  but  that  which  shall  be  pleasing  to  another  ? 
The  irresponsibility  of  her  position  in  great  things 
has  created  a  corresponding  irresponsibility  in  other 
scarcely  less  serious  matters;  for  instance,  in  a  freedom 
of  expression  about  persons  that  a  man  would  not  dare 


236  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

to  indulge  in,  because  he  knows  he  must  be  prepared  to 
defend,  with  his  life,  if  need  be,  the  accuracy  of  his 
statement.  I  have  sometimes  thought  the  two  most 
irresponsible  of  creatures  in  speech  are  a  college  boy 
and  a  woman ;  and  for  the  same  reason — that  both  hold 
a  position  of  minority  which  never  involves  a  strict 
accountability. 

A  distinguished  physician  once  lavished  upon  a  lady, 
both  of  them  my  guests  at  the  time,  such  a  superfluity 
of  flattery  that  I  afterward  expostulated  with  him. 
"  Oh,  madam,"  he  answered,  "  I  give  her  compliments 
as  I  would  give  a  beggar  a  dime.  It  is  what  she  baits 
and  angles  for,  so  I  hand  her  out  what  she  wants ! "  It 
is  a  human  merit  to  desire  to  please;  it  is  equally  human 
to  like  to  hear  when  we  have  succeeded;  but  excess  of 
merit  ceases  to  be  meritorious.  I  have  often  wondered 
if  woman's  subjection  has  developed  such  a  slavish  spirit 
in  her  as  sometimes  deserves  the  contempt  conveyed  in 
the  above  incident? 

On  the  other  hand  the  chief  vices  of  a  man  are  the 
result  of  his  ruling  attitude  as  head  of  the  race.  Where 
there  is  absolute  power  there  is  always  abuse  of  power. 
The  tyrant  must  be  the  chief  sufferer  for  his  tyranny, 
His  absolutism  has  caused  him  to  fix  in  law  and  cus-- 
tom  the  expression  of  his  own  desires  and  ideals  with- 
out due  regard  to  the  interests  of  the  rest  of  humanity 
— womanhood  and  childhood.  Thereb}%  great  vices 
inhere  in  social  life  of  which  man  is  the  direct  victim. 
He  has  not  given  himself  a  proper  chance  to  develop 
into  his  best,  because  in  the  exercise  of  his  unfettered 
rights  he  has  fastened  upon  the  social  organism  institu- 


"The  Best  is  Yet  to  Be."  237 

tions,  temptations  and  habits  which  start  him  out 
handicapped,  and  even  with  congenital  obstructions  to 
his  legitimate  evolution.  This  will  be  the  case  so  long 
as  it  is  considered  proper  that  the  little  boy  at  his 
mother's  knee  may  hear  and  see  and  do  things  which 
it  is  wrong  that  his  little  sister  may  not  hear  and  see 
and  do. 

But  slowly,  slowly,  this  misinterpretation  for  the 
race  is  correcting.  We  are  told  that  in  1827  (while  I 
was  yet  in  my  infancy)  "  Von  Baer  discovered  the 
ovule — the  reproductive  cell  of  the  maternal  organism — 
and  demonstrated  that  its  protoplasm  contributed  at 
least  one  half  to  the  embryo  child.  Before  this  time 
man  was  said  to  be  '  the  seed  and  woman  the  soil.' 
The  establishment  of  equal  physical  responsibility 
opened  the  question  of  the  extent  of  the  mother's  men- 
tal and  moral  responsibility." — Like  as  the  vegetable 
and  animal  kingdom  are  indistinguishable  in  their 
lower  orders,  so  boys  and  girls  differ  little  in  their 
natural  characteristics  until  they  enter  upon  the  period 
which  marks  their  differentiation  in  function.  There 
is  nothing  rudimentary  in  the  formation  of  the  female 
body;  it  possesses  two  entire  organs — the  uterus  and 
the  breast — which  are  wanting  or  rudimentary  in  the 
male.  These  organs,  according  to  Webster,  are  "the 
seat  of  the  passions,  the  affections  and  operations  of  the 
mind."  Their  functions  constitute  woman's  special  do- 
main, her  exclusive  kingdom,  where  man  cannot  intrude, 
which  he  may  not  share. 

Nature  Tecognizes  the  importance  of  the  mother  by 
restricting  the  exercise  of  her  peculiar   office  to  the 


238  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

meridian  of  life — her  ripest  maturity — in  order  that 
the  race  may  be  protected  in  full  vigor.  Other  parts  of 
her  being,  which  may  have  lain  dormant  or  in  partial 
disuse  through  over-estimated  activity  in  other  direc- 
tions, now  awake,  and  late  in  years  women  may  perform 
wonders  in  an  intellectual  and  business  way.  I  re- 
cently heard  a  wise  and  brilliant  speaker — a  man — say, 
"  I  never  try  to  make  a  man  over  forty  years  old  grasp 
new  ideas  of  action.  He  cannot.  There's  something 
the  matter  with  him — whether  pride  of  opinion  or 
rigidity  of  brain  I  know  not;  but  I  do  know  that  it  is 
different  with  a  woman.  She  seems  to  be  always  re- 
ceptive." 

The  twentieth  century  begins  with  a  reconstructed 
mental  state  toward  the  race.  It  does  not  believe  in 
woman's  natural  inferiority,  nor  in  man's  exclusive 
ideals.  It  recognizes  that  the  wellbeing  of  both  man 
and  woman  consists  in  a  whole  humanity,  and  that 
there  can  be  no  whole  humanity  with  anything  less  than 
perfect  freedom  for  both  halves  of  it.  The  right  to 
freedom  of  thought  and  liberty  of  speech  is  established 
for  a  woman  nearly  as  fully  as  for  a  man;  but  the  past 
stretches  out  a  ghastly  finger,  and  looking  back  to  pre- 
cedent, delays  full  freedom  of  action;  hereditary  in- 
ertia, the  chains  of  ancient  prejudice  and  the  strength 
of  present  customs  are  obstacles  to  be  reckoned  with  in 
the  rapidity  of  future  development.  But  women  and 
men  are  now  both  thinking,  are  both  educating  for  the 
battle  of  life,  are  beginning  to  tramp  side  by  side  in  the 
march  of  ideas  and  endeavor.  Mothers  realize  intensely 
that  if  they  had  known  how  better  to  rear  their  sons 


"  The  Best  is  Yet  to  Be."  239 

there  would  already  be  a  better  race ;  but  they  have  been 
so  held  down  during  all  the  ages  that  they  have  not 
understood  how  to  make  a  free,  noble  son,  and  a  daugh- 
ter fit  to  mate  with  him. 

Sometimes  the  way  seems  long  and  devious,  and  hu- 
man apprehension  is  so  dull  that  our  hearts  faint. 
There  is  so  much  to  correct  in  creatures  as  well  as  in 
conditions  that  we  wonder  why  even  Divine  patience 
does  not  despair.  But  there  is  to  me  logical  encourage- 
ment in  the  reflection  that  actually  up  to  the  date  of 
my  own  birth,  girls  were  admitted  into  the  public 
schools  of  Boston  only  during  the  summer  months  when 
there  were  not  boys  enough  in  attendance  to  fill  the 
desks;  science  and  all  but  rudimentary  mathematics 
were  considered  beyond  their  faculties.  Not  only  high 
schools  but  the  chief  colleges  of  the  world  are  now  open 
to  women,  and  co-education  is  a  growing  determination. 
Women  are  now  admitted — as  reported  by  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Education — to  one  hundred  and  fifty  colleges 
and  universities  in  America.  Of  these  one  hundred 
and  five  are  denominational — notwithstanding  that  the 
liberty  wherewith  Christ  maketh  free  has  been  the  root 
of  woman's  emancipation.  To-day  all  the  professions 
except  the  ministry  are  open  to  women;  yet  there  are 
many  women  evangelists,  and  others  who  have  taken 
the  course  in  theological  schools.  Woman  has  learned 
the  power  of  organization,  and  her  full  political  liberty 
is  now  in  sight.  Some  persons  are  afraid  that  the  ac- 
tivity in  woman's  interests  exhibited,  during  the  last 
quarter  of  a  century  will  experience  a  reaction.  Well, 
religious  revivals,  like  showers  on  earth,  are  always  fol- 


240  Old  Times  in  Dixie  Land. 

lowed  by  a  dry  spell.  Still — let  us  have  rain !  We 
should  not  be  disheartened  because  history  always  moves 
in  spirals,  and  not  by  direct  ascent. 

The  new  century  begins  with  a  radiant  idea  which 
now  seems  a  new-born  impulse  of  the  present  day;  yet 
nineteen  hundred  years  ago  it  haunted  the  heart  of  the 
divine  Judean  philosopher  and  prophet.  This  hoary 
new  idea  is  that  love  alone  can 

"  Follow  Time's  dying  melodies  through, 
And  never  lose  the  old  in  the  new, — 
And  ever  solve  the  discords  true." 

The  true  keynote  of  human  harmonies  is  struck  a£ 
last.  Little  by  little  the  ages  have  caught  the  vibration 
until  the  listening  heart  can  already  discern  the  great 
anthem  of  the  future — the  "  Hallelujah  Chorus "  of 
Equality,  Brotherhood.  Standing  as  we  do  midway 
between  two  centuries,  to-day  the  music  of  the  past  and 
of  the  future  is  ringing  in  our  souls.  A  new  world  looms 
into  view.  Along  its  bright  and  shining  way  we  see  a 
humanity  ennobled  because  well-born,  of  a  free  and 
willing  mother  and  a  self-controlled,  justice-loving 
father,  and  because  in  all  its  systems  and  customs  it  is 
"  Thinking  God's  thoughts  after  Him."  If  I  did  not 
believe  this  I  could  not  have  written  out  my  little  life- 
story.  Now  in  the  sunset  of  my  days  I  wish  to  sound 
out  to  all  women  full  and  clear  the  note  of  hope  that  is 
growing  every  day  in  sweetness  and  power  in  my  own 
spirit:  "It  is  daybreak  everywhere." 

As  a  last  word  I  know  no  more  heartening  comfort 
than  Eabbi  Ben  Ezra's: 


"  The  Best  is  Yet  to  Be."  241 

"  Grow  old  along  me  ! 
The  best  is  yet  to  be, 
The  last  of  life  for  which  the  first  was  made ; 
Youth  shows  but  half  ;  trust  God  ; 
See  all,  nor  be  afraid. 


Let  age  speak  the  truth  and  give  us  peace  at  last.' 


THE  END. 


a. 


rf 


X 


